The Only Protection I have is Shade
by conversingraven
Summary: READ THE FIRST CHAPTER FOR A FULL DESCRIPTION PLEASE! Skylar is transferring from Candor and has no doubts that following her three older brothers to Dauntless is what is right for her. In Dauntless, the last name Smith has been given quite the reputation by her brothers, one that she has no doubts she can live up to... Eric/OC
1. Chapter 1

Four years after Divergent. There was no war; Eric and Max agreed that Jeanine needed to be stopped and turned her into the other factions for attempting to take control of Dauntless and eliminate Abnegation. Dauntless's "probation" period ended after three initiations; Erudite is still on probation. This story takes place during the fourth initiation period. The tests have been altered so that divergence cannot be detected. Initiation is done at the age of 18 in this storyline and always has been! :]

Skylar lives in Candor and hates everything about it. Her three older brothers have transferred to Dauntless already, and she plans to follow. Lucas transferred seven years before her (the year before Eric and Four), so he is 25. Perseus transferred four years before her (the year after Divergent takes place) so he is 22, and Jamison transferred two years before her, so he is 20. She had a twin named Shade but he passed away when they were children.

Eventual OC with Eric, slow burn!


	2. Chapter 2

Skylar didn't quite care that she hadnt seen her mother in weeks. Nor did she really care that she had been basically living alone for the past few months while her mother pretended she didn't exist. At least thats what she'd been telling herself over and over again in hopes that maybe she would start to belive it. But this, not showing up to sit with her on choosing day, was absolute bull shit. Skylar had been waiting on the edge of her seat for nearly 30 minutes.

Rumor had it, and rumors in Candor were the truth 99.9% of the time, that Kang was the reason her mother was perfectly content with leaving her dependent on her own for half of her last year at home. Supposedly sher mother was living with the Candor leader now. Surprising thing since his ex-wife, who had passed away two years prior from a rare illness that couldn't be cured, had been her best friend since they were children. Her mother had always been promiscuous, but now there were rumors that their intimate relationship had began years before his wife had passed.

Skylar had finally given up hope once she saw Kang show up alone and prepare to make his speech. Since it was Candor's turn to lead the ceremony this year, he hadn't had to show up until shortly before its beginning to help the other factions set up. So, despite her hopes that her mother would at least say goodbye, the ceremony was about to begin and Skylar was on her own.

"Psst," Skylar sighed, ignoring the whisper behind her she kept her gaze on the stage. "Psst, hey. Skylar!" She shook her head and continued to ignore the boy speaking behind her as she watched Jack speak to a fellow Candor leader and a few Erudite while organizing his papers on the podium in front of him. Kang suddenly lifted his head and caught her eye. Skylar kept his gaze for a few seconds, wondering what it was that her mother saw in him.

"Skylar," the loud whisper came from behind her again. She knew that is was Jonathan, an annoyingly nosy boy that would be transferring to Amity today. "Jonathan leave the poor girl alone, you dont need to ask her to know that he mother wont be showing today. She is probably still in Jack Kang's bed," Jonathan's snappy mother said to him. Skylar rolled her eyes and mentally thanked Jack for starting the ceremony.

Skylar barely listened to his speech. And although she tried to listen when she heard Dauntless's roaring cheers, she could barely focus to the names as she watched each person called walk to the stage and choose where they would be spending the rest of her lives. Her nerves seemed to be getting the best of her, despite how prepared she was to leave the hell-hole of a faction that prided themselves on honesty.

Skylar had known for a long time she would be following her older brothers to Dauntless. It was where her father had grown up, and his stories of adventure from his childhood had always piqued each one of his five children's interests since each one had definitely inherited his unruly wild side. He had died in a fire when she was 10. So had her twin brother, Shade.

"Skylar Sophia Smith." Skylar stood before Jack had even finished saying her first name, and was at the bottom of the stairs by the time he said her last. Many people in the crowds around her chuckled at her swiftness, not a single person in Candor expected her to stay but she could see why her quick march to the stage to would be humorous to the others factions.

She continued her brisk walk to the stage, snatched up the knife, and cut her hand without hesitation. It was probably deeper than she wanted it to be, but she barely felt it. Her entire body was numb as she walked toward the roar of the Dauntless crowd.

Skylar didn't waste her time bothering to glance back at the empty seat she had spent the past hour in, nor the one next to it that should hold her mother. She wasn't her family anymore and hadn't been for a long time. Her family was in Dauntless, her life was in Dauntless, she was Dauntless.


	3. Chapter 3

"LISTEN UP!" A dark haired man stood at the edge of the roof the initiates had just landed on after jumping from the moving train. Skylar dusted off her black jeans that now sported several holes around the knees and one in her thigh.

The initiates gathered around the man who introduced himself as Four, then explained that he was their trainer. He then proceeded to tell them that the only way into Dauntless was to jump off of the roof, which had earned him more than a few remarks from not just Candor transfers, but a few of the Dauntless-born.

Skylar had barely spoken to anyone on the train, but a dark haired Dauntless-born had spent the entire ride stealing glances at her. At multiple times had looked like he'd wanted to speak to her, but had held back. Probably because of the bleach-blonde haired girl with a pixie cut that had nearly been sitting on his lap throughout the entire train ride.

That same boy was now at the front of the group, standing proudly next to his friend, he raised his hands offering to jump first. Skylar narrowed her eyes as she watched him march to the side of the ledge, climb on, and look over it.

"Any day now Alec!" Four told him and folded his arms.

Alec shrugged then tossed himself over the ledge. Skylar realized quickly that if this Dauntless-born was so willing to jump; then there was nothing to be afraid of.

"I'm next," she shouted and raised her hands. She grinned as she walked past the not-so-smug-looking blonde. She seemed to be petrified of the idea that she was expected to jump yet again.

Much like the cut of the knife Skylar had made that let her leave Candor, she fell backward over the edge that would allow her to enter Dauntless in the same manner; with no hesitation. This time, however, instead of feeling numb, her heart pounded in her chest as she screamed.

"Ooomph!" She felt the air leave her chest as she slammed into the net that was at the bottom. As she stared at the hole in the ceiling stories above her, she started laughing. She stopped when she felt a tug and rolled to the edge of the net and just about fell into the arms of a hulking Dauntless man. He stopped her before she fell and asked for her name.

"Second jumper, Skylar!"

Skylar looked over the shoulder at the crowd of Dauntless that cheered loudly, she his hand's hesitation on her waist as he let her down from the net. She ignored him again when he spoke to her, "see you around gorgeous."

Her eyes scanned the crowd for her brothers, but her heart sank when she didn't see them.

She let out a huff as she walked to the edge of the crown and folded her arms, she could let her mother's behavior slide, but her brothers would be getting a hell of a lecture if she didn't see them soon.

"Whats got your panties in a bunch Candor?" Skylar's eyes snapped to Alec, who stood not too far from her with a small group of Dauntless who were focussing on the third jumper.

"Third jumper, Berkley!"

Alec's eyes glanced her up and down, she returned the gesture and smirked at him.

"Dauntless, not Candor," she corrected him. "And what does it matter to you?"

Alex laughed at her, "just making sure the cutest transfer wasn't looking for her boyfriend."

Skylar shook her head and paused as the crowd roared around them at the fourth jumper, "Maxum!"

She nodded at him, "Nope, no boyfriend here."

Alec smirked at her, "had to ask, you wouldn't be the first person to have transferred for love."

Skylar rolled her eyes. The fifth jumper landed in the net. "What about your girlfriend? The blonde who was dry humping you on the train?"

At that remark Alec busted out in a roaring laughter, earning a few curious smirks from the Dauntless men he'd been standing with."Candice? Trust me she is not, my girlfriend." From the way that he said it, it was clear that Alec wasn't very fond of the blonde.

Sure hadn't seemed like he had an issue with her when she was nearly riding him like a horse earlier.

The fifth jumper, Bronson, who Skylar recognized as one of Alec's friends from the roof and train bounced toward them and slapped Alec's shoulder. "My man! I am so glad that this day has finally come!"

The two spoke for a moment until the ninth jumper, Conrad, joined them.

"Finally!" Conrad shouldered both of his friends in greeting, then snapped his gaze immediately to Skylar. "Um, hi?" he said as he looked her up and down.

Alec introduced the two of them, Conrad folded his arms and stared at her with narrowed eyes. "You look familiar," he told her.

Bronson suggested she probably recognized her from school, but Conrad only shook his head and tilted his head.

"No, no, not that, I never paid much attention to girls in the other factions."

Conrad then smiled and winked at her, "would have been a waste of time considering how much fun Dauntless girls are." Alec laughed and called him a dog.

Skylar turned her attention back to the net, the next person falling, a Candor-born named Meckham.

She continued watching as the initiates fell into the net.

Conrad introduced to a couple more of their Dauntless-born friends as they joined them. Eleventh jumper; Desmond, twelfth jumper; Olivia, fifteenth jumper; Isaac, sixteenth jumper; Eliana.

"One of the guys upstairs said that there were only twenty-four of us this year, Desmond said to the group.

"Shit really? Didn't they estimate a lot more initiates than that?" Olivia pointed the question toward Alec, who nodded.

"Dad said that they were keeping twenty-five this year," he told the group quietly. Skylar leaned toward him to listen better; it was evident that Alec wasn't supposed to know this information. She wondered who he was to be privy to such knowledge.

"Do you think they will still cut people?" Isaac's voice was barely a whisper. Cut people? What did he mean by that?

Before Alec could answer Skylar, let out a small yelp as someone grabbed her from behind, covering her eyes. She grabbed the wrists tightly and squeezed, as she began to yank away and give whoever it was a piece of her mind, she heard a familiar chuckle that made her heart jump.

"Guess whooooo?" The deep voice said from behind her like she wouldn't recognize the voice of her brother.

Instead of removing herself from him she put her hands on her hips."Hi Jami."

Jamison turned her around and pulled her into a hug, squeezing so tightly she lost her breath.

Once he released her, he held her shoulders and squeezed them. She had to crane her neck to see into her twenty-year-old brother's face; he'd gotten much taller since she'd last seen him two years ago.

Her toothy smile matched his as she gazed into his familiar mischievous-filled forest green eyes. Minus the short dark hair and the fact that he was a hulking male and had a vividly colorful collection of tattoos coating his arms, there was no mistaking that they were siblings.

"You're finally here," he told her and pulled her into another hug. When he released her, she looked over his shoulder to find Perseus, her twenty-two-year-old brother standing with one of his friends. He looked nearly identical to Jamison, but his hair was shaggier and he wore a black log sleeved jacket, so she didn't know if he had any tattoos.

Skylar pushed Jamison playfully away from her and pulled Persues into a hug, who laughed with a toothy grin to match his siblings. "Hey troublemaker," he told her as she pulled away.

"Look at her Persi," Jamison said and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "Our baby girl is all grown up."

Perseus only laughed at his brother and introduced Skylar to his friend, Zack, who gave her a flirtatious grin.

"Where is Lucas?" she asked her brothers.

Jamison answered with a dramatic eye roll. "He's over there." Skylar careened her neck to see where he'd nodded.

Lucas was the oldest of them all, having transferred seven years before her, he had just turned 25.

"He said that if he greets you too soon that it will draw too much attention to you. And since he works with leadership, well, he thought maybe it was best he give you space for your first few days." Perseus explained to her; she could tell from his voice he disapproved of the decision as he glanced at where Lucas was standing with Max and a few others Skylar didn't recognize.

Skylar wasn't surprised as he was working with leadership now, her oldest brother had always been the most serious of them all. She narrowed her eyes in his direction, she wouldn't let him get away with "giving her space." They were family, and she expected them to act like it now that they were all finally in the same faction again.

Lucas was a hulk compared to her other brothers, muscles lines his entire body. If she didn't know him so well, his appearance might very well have frightened her. But even he didn't compare to the man standing next to him.

Skylar could have sworn she could feel the mix of power and testosterone from across the room just looking at him.

The man was intimidating, to say the least. Standing as tall as her brother with the same manner but his glare could likely cut like a knife as she watched his gaze skim over the crowded room. His blonde hair was shaved on the sides and was gelled back on the top. His jaw was defined, his body muscular and slightly tanned, and a mix of black and white tattoos covered his arms, with a maze-like pattern ran in lines up his neck. Skylar decided that the man was the textbook definition of hot.

Suddenly, as if he could feel her gaze on him, his dark eyes snapped to hers, making her breath hitch.

Jamison put his arm around her shoulders. "That, baby sister, is Eric Coulter."

Skylar kept the man's gaze as Jamison kept his breath low enough so only she and Perseus could hear."And as you can clearly see, he is the most frightening and intimidating Dauntless in existence. Despite his terrible disposition and horrid reputation, he and Lucas are what we could call, well, best friends."

Perseus spoke up, keeping his voice quiet but Skylar was sure that the Dauntless-born initiates standing only feet from them could hear. "Don't be too scared of him Sky, he can be cruel, but he really isn't all that bad. Just, don't talk back and be on your best behavior around him."

Perseus had misinterpreted her lapse of breath for fear, but Jamison knew her better than that. He leaned in and whispered in her ear so that only she could hear him now. "Or you could be naughty so that he's forced to punish you."

Skylar laughed and him and was about to make a perverse joke before they were interrupted.

"Told you I recognized her, they're obviously related." Skylar turned her head to see it was Conrad who spoke. He was now standing with Alec and Desmond, the three of them has stepped away from their crowd of friends to join their conversation. Or eavesdrop, whatever.

"And if she's related to them, then she's related to Lucas." Conrad nodded toward her oldest brother. From the look on the boy's faces and their glances to once another. Skylar got the impression that Lucas was just as feared Jami and Persi swore Eric was.

"Awwwwwwww, so sweet! My baby sister is already making friends!" Jamison teased her with a voice imitating what could have sounded like an overbearing mother speaking to a child.

He continued speaking while keeping his arm around her shoulder, his voice turning serious. "Or are they your next victims? She's a real heartbreaker, this one."

Jamison winked at the boys while Perseus and Zack both laughed.

Skylar shrugged her brother off of her, pretending to be annoyed but her face still held a grin.

"Um, you may know of them. They're Dauntless-born," she motioned to their clothing."That one is Alex, that one is Connor, and that one is Dexter." She motioned to each one as she spoke, her grin growing on her face when a mix of annoyance and horror reached the boy's faces.

"Alec," "Conrad," "Desmond," each boy corrected her at the same time.

Persues chuckled, "she knows your real names boys, she's only teasing you."

Jamison tilted his head toward his sister, "or testing, whichever word you prefer."

"Well, you can call me whatever you'd like." This time it was just Alec who spoke, who smiled and raised his eyebrows. Conrad and Desmond both shifted slightly next to him when Persues frowned and narrowed his eyes at the boy.

Jamison's reaction was that of humor as he folded his arms. His gaze was even more mischievous than before as he spoke to Alec, "you're Jacobsen's son, aren't you?"

Whoever Jacobsen was, he was clearly important because Alec stood straighter than before and nodded to Jamison.

"Yes, I am." He reached out to shake her brother's hand, but Jamison just stared at it before taking a step toward him.

"Well, Alec, Jacobsen." His voice was deadly serious now, but it didn't seem to faze Alec in the slightest. Jamison stared at him for a moment.

"Good luck with this one," Jamison laughed to show that he was only trying to tease him and shook the boy's hand. "Wish I could say that she is all bark, but she just loves to bite too."

The crowd cheered around them as the last jumper, number twenty-four, fell into the net with a high-pitched scream.

Skylar looked over Alec's shoulder, "Oh look, your girlfriend is here."

Jamison let out a jokingly disappointed scoff from next to her, "well there goes all my fun."

Alec didn't turn to see the shaky Candice be pulled from the net as he responded. "I told you she isn't my-,"

Skylar raised her hand to stop him. "Isn't your girlfriend, right, got it, Alex."

Jamison laughed beside her, so she turned and she pushed him and Persues toward their older brother.

"Sky," Persues spoke from behind her.

"Skylar."She ignored her brother's protests as she stopped pushing Jamison to the side of her and made a bee-line to her destination.

There was no point in Lucas keeping his distance now that the Dauntless-born would know her relationship to him. She was more than tough enough to make it through initiation without anyone accusing her of favoritism.

Like her brothers, she had known since she was a kid she was made for Dauntless and had been training for years.

As they neared the small group standing with her brother, multiple heads snapped in their direction. Other than Max and Eric, Skylar assumed the rest of them were all supervisors or those who worked relatively close to the leaders.

She refused to let their intimidating presence get to her; she was a Smith goddamnit, and Smiths got what they wanted. And what she wanted was a hug from her oldest brother.

Jamison and Persues both chuckled from behind her as she stopped right in front of her oldest brother and put a hand on her hip, the other pointed directly at his chest. The men around them grew silent; a few looked amused as they watched her speak to him.

"Lucas. Anderson. Smith." She paused for dramatic effect and huffed. "You do not get to use some bullshit idea, of not showing favoritism toward me, as an excuse for you to not greet me the second that I stepped off of that net!"

Skylar tilted her head up and glared into his green eyes, which shone with amusement. "You're officially, my least favorite brother," she told him smoothly.

"Damn it," Persues cursed angrily under his breath from behind her.

"Guess you lost that bet, little brother," Lucas said gruffly as he pulled Skylar into a gentle hug.

Bet?

"Perci says you don't rank your love for us, but I know I'm your favorite," Jamison said to his siblings confidently, earning a light scoff from Persues.

Lucas released her and folded his arms once again, and she stepped back so she could see the entire circle of men around her.

"Wait, Skylar is a girl?" One of the men standing a few feet from their small group said.

Skylar knew shock showed on her face since the short man continued. "I only assumed, I mean they talk about you sometimes. But the other day when they were joking that they weren't sure if Dauntless could handle another Smith, I assumed they meant another brother. You just sounded so, um.."

Skylar finished his sentence for him, "manly?" The man shook his head.

"Like a tough son-of-a-bitch, right Bradley? Rather than a tough bitch?" Jamison finished from behind her.

Lucas chuckled as he changed the subject."You've grown up a lot since I last saw you, Skylar. When was that, Jami's visitation day?" Lucas voice oozed confidence.

"I know right," Jami said as he leaned his elbow on her shoulder and held his chin with his hand. "Our baby Sky-Sky is all grown up. Although-,"

Jamison sighed dramatically and looked as if he were to continue, but his attention was grabbed by a very attractive redhead across the room. She was walking briskly with Four toward the man who had let the initiates off the net. Skylar recognized her from the roof and realized there must have been another entrance for them to take.

Skylar and her brother both craned their necks to see around the man standing next to Eric to watch the girl's hips sway as she approached the net.

She let out a quiet whistle, "who, is, that?" she asked Jamison, trying to keep her voice quiet. Too bad the group had turned their attention to what the two siblings had been staring at and were now listening intently.

"Bethany. Good looking, huh?" Jamison said and leaned back on the elbow he still had rested next to her neck."Don't bother; unlike _some people_ we know who like to switch between sexes, she is very, very straight."

Skylar smirked at him, "I bet I could make her reconsider, maybe even make her religious," she joked, earning her a disgusted moan from Perseus.

"Ah, I get you, make her say your name, and Gods, in same the moan, or give her a divine revelation?" Jamison nodded as him and his sister stared at Bethany's backside. She was now offering them quite the view, standing with her hands on her hips talking emotionally to a group of friends.

"Don't need an anaconda to show her how to properly eat forbidden fruit," Skylar retorted, earning another chuckle from a few people around them and another response from Jamison.

"Or show her how to properly part the red sea?"

At that Skylar began to laugh again at seeing that Lucas was now shaking his head at the two of them.

A few of the men around them listened with expressions of mixed amusement and shock.

"Oh, that's a good one! how about, make her get down on her knees and confess her sins?" Skylar turned to him with a giggle. She felt her cheeks reddening.

"I remember now why mom never let you two sit together at the dinner table," Lucas said in a monotone voice.

"Ah yes," Perseus nodded as he expressed his agreement, "even after growing up in Candor it still amazes me that the two of you can be so perverse around each other."

"You two are just jealous because, as we already established, I'm her favorite," Jamison rolled his eyes and waved his hand dramatically.

Skylar laughed and took the opportunity to jump on the subject she'd been thinking about for weeks. "Speaking of dinner; starting this week, we are officially reinstating Smith-Sunday dinner gatherings. No arguing."

At that, each of the brothers began talking at once.

"Fine, but you're doing all of the cooking," Lucas told her.

"Or we could get something from the cafeteria?" Jamison chimed in.

"And whose apartment will this be taking place in?" Perseus asked them all.

"Not mine," Lucas snapped, "last time I had you two fuckheads over you made a mess."

"Maybell would have an aneurysm if we did it at mine," Jamison told them.

Jami looked at Skylar's lifted brow. "roommates girlfriend, not mine."He elbowed Skylar softly, then winked "I'm saving myself for marriage remember."

This comment earned a loud round of laughter from every person around them, even a smile from Eric and Lucas.

Jamison only chuckled to himself, "Nah but really, she's a real bitch. But, she has massive tits and walks around basically naked all the time, so I usually to let it slide."

"You know we may have to alternate weeknights, not just stick to Sundays," Lucas told them with narrowed eyes.

Skylar glared at him.

"I have a busy schedule," her oldest brother said flatly.

Skylar scoffed again, "Sunday nights, no arguments, this is about tradition!"

"That tradition ended a long time ago baby sister," Lucas told her.

"Lucas you have the biggest apartment of all of us! I'm sure that girl you've been seeing, Melissa, Meranda, whatever her name is, can stand to give you up for one fucking night a week," Perseus spoke up.

"It isn't that! I just don't trust you not to make a-" Lucas was interrupted.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that we didn't make that mess Luke!" Perseus snapped.

"Seriously bro that was the Hitchcock twins and that dumbass friend of theirs, we both left that party early with our dates." Jamison defense earned him a seething glare from Lucas.

"I don't give a flying fuck-" Lucas began to respond again, but Skylar interrupted him, earning her a fierce glare.

"Seriously?" Skylar paused and glanced between them.

Her eyes landed on Eric's for a moment, who was smirking at his supposed best friend.

"Once I have my apartment we can do it there, but that won't is until I'm through initiation." There was no response this time as the brothers glared at one another. Skylar had forgotten the bastards were just as stubborn as her.

"What about your place Eric?" She'd intended for it to come out as a joke but had apparently sounded serious since Eric's smirk disappeared and his head snapped in her brothers and a few of the men standing near them following suit.

"What? You're supposedly his best friend, right? In the Smith family that means your family, so you'll likely be invited anyways." She explained.

Skylar had only hoped that one of her brothers would offer their place up immediately upon seeing that she was stirring up trouble.

She was gifted with an unlucky silence instead.

"Um," Persues began to speak but stopped upon looking at Eric's menacing glare.

Skylar tried her best not to look intimidated but gulped, maybe her brothers were right in saying she should behave herself around him. He was a leader, after all.

"Well, if that's the case then my place is up for grabs too," Zack spoke up from behind her. He pushed his way between Persues and Lucas and put his arm around Perseus's shoulder.

"I'm his best friend, so that means I'm family. I'll even help you cook, maybe even teach you a few things. Inside the kitchen, and out," he suggested flirtatiously and waggled his eyebrows.

"Dude that's my sister," Persues tossed his friend's arm off of him.

"I'm only joking," Zack said and winked at Skylar. He clearly wasn't.

Her brother pointed at Zack jokingly as he stepped between his view of her, "don't be spreading rumors you and I are best friends, I _barely_ tolerate you."

"Skylar," Lucas snapped suddenly. He had returned to a brooding stance much like Eric's, arms folded and glare plastered to his face once more.

"Go follow Four, you have training to worry about now," he nodded in the direction the group that was now getting ready to follow Four and Lauren out of the large room.

Skylar raised both of her eyebrows to Jamison who was looking at her with a smirk on his face.

"Try not to cause too much more trouble Sky-Sky." Jami drawled the words as he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her in the right direction.

As he lightly pushed her away from the leaders, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Looks like you almost got your wish. Eric was looking at you like he wants to bend you over and spank you in front of the entire room." With that, he smacked her ass, earning her a yelp.

Jami pushed her forward a bit harder as she turned around to throw a punch at him for slapping her ass, but he was too quick, so he dodged it quickly.

"Naughty naughty, little Sky," he waggled a finger at her and laughed.

Skylar only huffed in response as he waved her away.

Before turning away from him, she made the mistake of catching Eric's eyes one again.

Unfortunately, the leader's dark gaze did not seem to insinuate that he wanted to punish her in the way Jamison had recommended, but that he wanted to skin her alive and cook her over a roasting fire.

Skylar walked toward her fellow initiates as quickly as she could without people taking notice, hoping that she would see little of the leaders during her Initiation.

The last thing she needed was to piss the wrong person off; perhaps listening to Perseus's warning to stay away from Eric Coulter was best.


	4. Chapter 4

*Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I've been very busy, but I promise that I will work on it more in the next few weeks. Please let me know if you see any mistakes or have any recommendations. Thanks!

..

..

Skylar couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this happy. Her cheeks hurt from smiling, and her abs hurt from laughing.

Home. This was what home felt like.

"Okay, okay, we get it!" Desmond slammed his almost-empty coffee cup on the table.

Skylar wondered if any one at the tables around them knew that it was mostly whiskey, as was the one in front of her.

Alec laughed at his friend and turned to face her.

They had all been arguing about the crush, or not-crush, that Desmond had on one of the Dauntless-born girls they'd grown up with and if she was "ton ten initiate class material" or not.

Skylar had forgotten the girl's name, not because she wasn't paying attention to what they were saying, but because the boys had been referring to her as "Double-D."

"Alright, Sky. I'm calling you that, by the way," Alec leaned forward and took a sip of his mostly-whiskey-coffee. "Although I should call you something else since you refuse to use my real name. When your brother said that you like to bite, he didn't mean literally, right?" He smiled charmingly at her as his friends laughed loudly.

The laugh earned them a glare from the two other tables of initiates in the cafeteria as well as a few of the Dauntless-born. She was the only female at the table, as well as the only initiate, and their laughing had earned them more than their fair share of glares.

Skylar took a large sip from her cup. "I'm not going to answer that. Can't go giving away all my secrets right off the bat," she said to him flirtatiously. Though she was careful not to lean too far forward, because with the black tank top she was wearing, the view of her chest would definitely give him the wrong idea. Although maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

It was well after dinner, and Skylar had been surprised that so many people had stuck around.

The atmosphere around them had turned into something entirely different, making her wonder about the bar Alec had told them he'd bring them to later.

Alec smirked at her and leaned forward. "Well, if you aren't going to tell me, then I suppose I'll just have to find out for myself."

"Do you two need a room?" Desmond asked him and drank the rest of the contents of his cup. "Pretty sure there's a broom-closet on the next floor that has a lock on it."

A laugh erupted around them again.

"Pretty sure," Conrad told his friend, "you KNOW, that it has a lock because you've been there yourself. Many times."

"Did any of them have double-d's too?" She teased Desmond, who stuck out his tongue at her. His tongue!

"Oh!" Skylar said abruptly. "That reminds me! I want a few piercings! And tattoos!" she finished her cup. "Where do we go?" She directed her question toward Alec.

"Right now?" Alec asked her. "You just got here."

Skylar shrugged, why not? The rest of them finished their cups and made their way out of the cafeteria without paying any mind to the other initiates.

Conrad insisted they make a "pit stop" on the way, which ended up being a friend of his, who refilled the flasks that him, Desmond, and Isaac had in their pockets. No questions asked.

As they walked, Alec questioned her on what she planned to get. She told him that she wanted her tongue pierced in two places, and planned on more once they were done with initiation.

"Tongue huh?" He asked quietly.

Skylar could hear in his voice what that he was thinking about something dirty. She hummed a "Mhm" and nodded.

Once they were in the parlor, a few of the others went to the back of the room to talk to a friend.

Alec told her that a few of them already had a few tattoos under their clothes and had scheduled to get more later on in the week.

"Oh, so you have to schedule ahead of time?" she asked him.

Skylar's voice must have shown her disappointment because a large man with a piercing covered face and dark blue hair answered for him.

"Not if your him," he nodded to Alec. "Or a hot chick," he nodded to her.

Skylar let out a flirtatious laugh and sat on the chair he motioned to.

"I'm Chuck. Do I know you from somewhere?" She shook her head, so he asked her what she wanted.

Alec began talking to another artist about something. Skylar explained to Chuck quietly that she had a few more she wanted but that there were a few she wanted to get immediately.

There was one, in particular, she couldn't live without, so they started with that.

While she laid on her side to get the first tattoo, Desmond came across the room to them, passing Alec the flask, who then passed it to her. Chuck didn't seem to have a problem with it, so she gulped down a few large sips.

"The ribs hurt like a bitch," the tattoo artist explained. "Not usually the first choice for initiates."

But it was the perfect place, so Skylar toughed through it. By the time they were almost done, their group had dwindled back down to just the four of them once again. Skylar, Alec, Desmond, and Conrad.

Skylar knew that no one could see what work he was doing because of the angle she was laying at, and that was all right with her. When they were all called to the front of the shop to talk to another artist, Chuck finished up and wrapped it.

"You're done?" Desmond asked her as she walked to the front of the shop.

"We didn't even get to see it!" Alec's words were slurred.

"Yeah!" Conrad protested, "and as your new best friends, we deserve to."

New best friends? Skylar chuckled and pulled the flask from Alec's pocket, whose cheeks reddened.

"Calm down Connor," Skylar took another sip of the whiskey.

Conrad scoffed at her. She was definitely feeling the buzz now.

She tilted the bottle toward them, "you can see it later. I promise."

Before anyone could respond, Alec snatched the flask from her hand and hid it behind his back, startling her.

"What was that?" Skylar turned to see Lucas walking up to them, Eric in tow.

Alec feigned innocence. "What was what?"

"Show me your hands," Lucas demanded. When he did, they were empty. Lucas turned him around, and again, found nothing.

Skylar's gaze locked onto Desmond, when although was the farthest away from Alec, clearly was the one that had ended up with the flask. How had they managed to do that so quickly?

"Have you been drinking?" Lucas demanded. Eric glared from behind him menacingly.

A series of "no sirs" echoed from the boys, so he turned to his sister.

Skylar decided the best approach to the situation was to change the subject.

"I got a tattoo!" She pulled up her shirt and started to peel away the cloth that covered it.

That seemed to do the trick.

"No shit? Already?" Lucas said and walked toward her.

She nodded enthusiastically and finished peeling the bandage to the side.

It was a simple design, just a quote and a small black and white tree and its shadow. But he would know how much it meant to her.

"When the sun in the sky sets my world ablaze,

the only protection I will have is Shade."

When Lucas read skimmed the words with his eyes, a pained look crossed his face.

Skylar waited for her brother's response, but he only shook his head.

"Why is Shade capitalized?" A clearly inebriated Desmond peeked around Lucas to read the tattoo.

She didn't answer him and instead stared at her brother.

"It's perfect Sky," he said quietly and covered the tattoo.

A smile grew on her face, but it disappeared as soon as Lucas cleared his throat.

"But it doesn't excuse the fact that you're drinking on your first night here. Seriously Sky? You have training tomorrow!"

Lucas turned to her friend and held his hand out. Desmond looked Skylar, who nodded and folded her arms.

"You know," she told him, conveying annoyance in her voice. "Jami would just let us keep it and send us to our dorm."

"Yeah," Lucas smirked when Desmond flinched as he snatched the flask from his grasp. "Well, I'm not Jami." He passed it to Eric, who slid it into his pocket and glared toward Skylar.

"So, boys," Lucas told them and folded his arms. Skylar covered her laugh with her hand as a look of fear crossed each of their faces.

"Can I trust you to get my baby sister back to the dorms safely?" He asked them menacingly. Each of them nodded in response.

"And do I need to tell you what is going to happen to you if you try anything with her? Especially if you get her drunk first?"

"Oh, C'mon!" She pushed past her older brother playfully and turned Desmond around so that she was pushing her friends away from Lucas and their leader.

"Unless you're going to play a red card, you have no say in what I do, or who I do. And vice versa!" She explained. Not that she was going to do anything, with any of them.

Once her friends were walking of their own accord, she turned back to him. "You should just consider yourself lucky I'm not trying anything with this," she motioned to Eric, who widened his eyes.

"Because, hot," Skylar started walking backward as she spoke, toward where her friends had stopped. "damn!"

She backed up so that her friends started moving with her again. "Would I love a piece of that."

Okay, maybe she was more than buzzed.

Lucas was now glaring at her.

She nodded toward Eric, and to her surprise, Skylar found a smirk had made its way onto the "ruthless" leaders face. She sent him a wolfish grin and a wink before turning and ushering her friends down the hallway.

"Drink some water," Lucas's growl echoed down the hall.

Skylar didn't bother turning around, and only waved her hand in the air and continued walking, "yeah yeah, alright."

..


	5. Chapter 5

..

..

Eric's POV

"She's going to be the death of me," Lucas said exasperatedly and drank from his water bottle. "I swear, so is Jami."

Eric watched his best friend as he spoke to Perseus.

He was definitely right about Jami, that kid could cause more trouble than he was worth, but Skylar? He only hoped she wasn't too bad. Plus, Eric would be lying if he hadn't been surprised to find out that Skylar was in fact, a girl.

He felt stupid at first, but when he mulled it over in his head, he realized that although Lucas had probably done so more with his brothers, he'd never really mentioned that Skylar all that often.

Eric had only heard them mention how tough Skylar was, how funny, how much she was like them. He'd expected a twin-like figure of Lucas's younger brother, not a drop-dead gorgeous, bright green-eyed girl.

Lucas had most definitely not been lying, when he'd compared them, the two siblings were quite possibly the most flirtatious people he'd ever encountered. Clearly, since she'd basically professed her attraction to him just an hour earlier.

" _Hot, damn, would I love a piece of that._ "

Had she not realized that the entire tattoo shop had been able to hear her? Or had she not cared?

And what had he been thinking? Smiling at her like that? Had he not cared either?

No, he definitely cared. Skylar was his best friend's sister. Fucking her wasn't an option. Hell, even befriending her likely wasn't an option.

"Just wait," Perseus assured his older brother as he lifted the weight above his head.

"She'll be at the top of the list before you know it. Hungover or not, she's still a Smith," he grunted. "And we're always on top."

The image that appeared in Eric's mind when he thought about Skylar always being on top was not one that made him worthy of calling himself Lucas's best friend.

" _Hot, damn, would I love a piece of that._ " Eric swore he could still feel those gorgeous green eyes as they had skimmed his body.

"I hope you're right man," Lucas took his place on the bench. "I'm going to have an aneurysm if I find out that one of those little boys she was with is fucking around with her though. She needs to focus on training, not boys. And I'll be damned if I let Jami encourage her."

A disgusted look covered Perseus's face as he replied, "unfortunately it's not just boys we have to worry about."

Eric needed a shower.

A very long, very cold shower.

Lucas removed his hands from the bar above his head and covered his face, mumbling curse words into them.

"So, did you decide where we're having dinner on Sunday?" Perseus picked his nails.

Lucas did a few reps before responding. "Think we can convince her to just let us sit together in the cafeteria?"

Perseus snorted.

"Fuck, you're right." Lucas agreed, "Sky would throw a fit."

"And Jami has two roommates, who are both very social," Perseus explained. "So, although he'd be easy to agree, his place is a pigsty, and there is always a million people around."

"Well, I can't do it at my place," Lucas sat up and stretched his arms above his head.

Eric noticed the lingering eyes of the few females that were in the large training room and forced the jealousy he felt back down.

Eric knew that 98 percent of Dauntless hated him. The only reason they paid him attention is because he was a leader. And the girls that he'd slept with were trashy, only concerned with their status.

It wasn't fair for him to be jealous of someone like Lucas.

"And I can't do it at mine," Perseus replied to his brother.

Eric thought about Skylar's suggestion earlier that day.

Fuck it.

"Do it at mine."

Both of their heads snapped in Eric's direction, staring at him as if they'd heard him wrong.

"What did you say?" Perseus questioned.

"I said," Eric folded his arms, "Do. It. At. Mine."

"Um," Lucas scrunched the water bottle in his hands, "you sure man? I don't want to put you out like that. I'm sure I could convince my girl to do her little girly gathering somewhere else."

Eric knew he wouldn't though, Meranda was a bitch. He still didn't get why Lucas was even interested in her, let alone why he let her move in with him. She wasn't even all that attractive. His best friend could clearly do much better.

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure." Eric glared at his best friend. "My place is big enough, and it's much cleaner than any of yours."

"Well, then it's settled!" Perseus jumped on the opportunity.

Lucas kept his gaze on Eric, still unconvinced it was a good idea.

"I'm not cooking though," Eric added more weight and took Lucas's place on the bench.

Lucas stood, then nodded and folded his arms while staring at his best friend.

Eric ignored his questioning gaze. Fucking Candors, always thought they could read you.

"Skylar can cook," Perseus explained. "Mom was always bad at it, so after dad and Shade died, she took over."

Lucas tensed beside his brother. Eric knew that their father had died when they were younger, but he didn't know how. He also didn't know who Shade was. Hadn't that been the capitalized word on Skylar's tattoo? Had they had another brother?

Eric didn't ask. Lucas would tell him if he wanted. If not, it wasn't his business.

"I'm also not paying for the food." Eric did a few reps before continuing. "You lot are. And I expect dessert."

Eric hated himself.

The dessert he was thinking about when he'd said that wasn't in the form of food, but his friend's sister.

" _Hot, damn, would I love a piece of that._ "

Lucas smiled, finally. "You earn more points than both of us combined each payday, man. Also, if you keep eating sweets the way you do, you're going to lose your girlish figure."

Eric shot him a glare.

Perseus laughed at the two friends. "Perfect! We can tell Skylar tomorrow; she'll be more than thrilled. Maybe she'll even listen to what you tell her from now on, boss," he punched his older brother in the shoulder lightly."

Lucas pushed him away, " do you think I can convince her to start wearing sweaters all the time?" he pondered. "No more of those tight little tank tops like the one she was wearing earlier?"

Eric inwardly cursed. Her tits weren't all that big, but they were big enough. And perky. They had looked great in that shirt.

If he wasn't going to be allowed to play with her, he should at least be able to look at her.

"You know what?" Perseus said, "if we help her cook dinner, she might just agree to that. Or at least the no tight-tank top thing."

Eric wondered what she'd agree to if he cooked her dinner by himself, but shook the thought off quickly.

"That settles it then," Lucas said dismissively and grabbed his shirt and water bottle. "I've got to get going, I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Yeah me too," Perseus agreed and wiped his brow with his shirt. Yet again, girls glanced in their direction. The Smith's were all wall known for their looks."I promised Zack I'd stop by to talk about something before heading back to my apartment."

And with that, the two of them left their leader to his thoughts.

And by god, if he wasn't thankful no one could read them because he had started to imagine how great she'd look without a tank top or a sweater covering her. He wondered if she'd squirm if he were to kiss her ribs, where she'd gotten her tattoo.

Fuck. No. Eric knew he wasn't allowed to think like this.

Skylar was off limits, no matter how hot she was, or how flirtatious she was. Besides the fact that she was his best friends baby sister, she was also an initiate.

Shortly after the two brother had left, Eric stormed out of the training room and made his way quickly back to his apartment.

Unfortunately, the cold shower he thought would help did nothing to rid the thoughts racking his mind.

Her voice was ringing in his ears.

" _Hot, damn, would I love a piece of that._ "

Hot damn, would he love a piece of her.

..


	6. Chapter 6

I promised I'd update quickly. Hopefully I can keep it up. Please let me know if you find any mistakes! Enjoy!

..

..

Skylar nearly skipped on her way to the cafeteria.

She had woken up in a great mood, ready for the first day of the rest of her life.

Dauntless. She was in Dauntless now! All she had to do was get through initiation, and she had no doubts that she would.

Nothing could get her down. Not even the grumpy complaints from her hungover friends.

Desmond mumbled as Skylar held the door open for them and bowed dramatically. She followed Alec to grab her and the others coffee, waiving to Jami and Perseus who were sitting with a crowd of friends.

Once they sat down, Skylar began asking the Dauntless-born as many questions about training as she could think of. She had invited Meckham, a Candor-transfer, to sit with them as well, who was listening to everything they said.

Conrad was the only one answering her though, and even then, they were one or two-worded answers.

Grumpy bastards.

When they were done with breakfast, or for those who were hungover, lack thereof, they made their way out of the large room, only to be stopped by Lucas and Eric. And by the look of them, they were in the opposite mood of her.

This was getting to be a habit that Skylar wasn't sure she was okay with. Especially with the way they were looking at her.

"How are you feeling today baby sister?" Lucas drawled, coffee in hand.

"They won't shut up," Desmond mumbled and covered his ears.

Alec grunted in agreement.

Skylar shot him a glare and put her arm around Meckham, forcing him to walk down the hallway, toward the training room with her.

"Don't get mad at me because you assholes can't handle your shit," she called back.

Lucas called after her, "hey come back here. I want to talk to you before you go."

Well shit. Skylar knew that this was likely going to be a lecture about how not to talk to her leaders.

She sighed and turned around to see her older brother nod to her friends in dismissal. She didn't have much of choice, so she stayed in place, folding her arms as Alec sent her a weak smile.

Once her friends were down the hall, she started speaking first, before she could be lectured.

"Listen, I know what I said last night was inappropriate," she told her brother, not daring to look at Eric's expression. "I was only joking around. I didn't mean it."

Lucas stared at her for a moment then raised an eyebrow. "You know I can tell when you're lying right?"

This time Skylar couldn't help but glance to Eric, though the smirk he'd sent her last night was gone. Very gone. And replaced with a glare that could probably make the devil cower in fear.

"That isn't why I'm talking to you though," Lucas sighed. "Dinner Sunday."

Skylar stopped her brother from continuing.

"I swear if you say that you are canceling it I will disown you," she growled.

Lucas stared at her, his face expressionless.

It was bad enough that her mother hadn't shown up to her choosing ceremony, but now her brothers couldn't even be inconvenienced to have dinner with her once a week? I mean, she'd heard that Dauntless wasn't so keen on family-bonds, but this was utter bullshit.

"I'm serious," she continued. "Don't piss me off and ruin my good mood."

One night. They couldn't give her one night?

But before he could answer, Lucas was interrupted by a man who insisted he needed to talk to him immediately.

Lucas put his finger up for her to wait. She nearly growled at him in frustration.

Eric spoke up as his friend was pulled aside by the man.

"You're just like him," he told her flatly, the menacing glare still held his eyes. "Jumping to the worst conclusion immediately."

Skylar stared at him with a clenched jaw. Who was he to tell her how she was? Fuck him.

"He was just going to tell you that you're all having dinner at my place," Eric stood straighter and raised an eyebrow. "And that you're cooking."

Well, wasn't that something.

Skylar looked away from her leader, then back to him to realize that he had taken a few steps toward her, so they were only feet from one another. Her breath nearly stopped at seeing how brilliantly gray is eyes really were, with tinges of blue around the center.

"Your place?" Skylar asked him.

Eric stared at her in a manner much-like her brother had only moments before, but his gaze seemed to have lightened.

"Mmmkay," she said and looked away, toward where Lucas was in a heavy conversation with the man that had pulled him away. He looked angry.

She turned her head back to Eric, who had taken another step toward her and had tilted his head.

"What am I cooking?" Skylar asked him, trying her best not to convey how uncomfortable his stare was making her.

Eric shrugged, "whatever you want."

Skylar nodded, and he took another step toward her. She stood her ground, but it was bothering her that she couldn't read his body expressions. Nervousness racked her body.

"But," Eric said, "I want dessert too."

Skylar nodded again. He had said it simply, as if he were requesting a cup for his drink.

If she weren't careful, she'd become a bobblehead doll.

"What kind of dessert?" Her voice was quieter than before, and not intentionally.

Eric's lip twitched, sending her blood racing.

But he didn't answer, only stared right into her eyes. Thankfully, he blinked, so he wasn't a robot. But lord, did he have long lashes.

What was she to do, look away again? Did she handle this situation like she was facing a rabid dog?

Skylar took a deep breath, arms still folded, "cake?"

Eric nodded, "sure. But nothing compares the cake in the cafeteria."

Skylar raised an eyebrow and folded her arms around her tighter. More and more people had begun to exit the cafeteria, so she assumed it was almost time for her to be at training. She made a mental note to get a watch later from one of the shops she'd seen near the tattoo shop.

"I'll bet I could make a better one," she told him confidently and shrugged.

Eric's expression didn't change. How the hell did he do that?

"What are we betting?" The expression the same, the voice, very different. Curious. Dare she say, husky? Was he flirting with her?

This was the third encounter she'd had with the leader, and she had no idea what to think.

"What do you want to bet?" She asked him quietly, realizing he'd taken another step toward her, so he was out of the way of the people on their way past them.

He didn't answer her question. Instead, his gaze darkened as he narrowed his eyes. He was staring at her mouth.

"Did you get your tongue pierced?" he asked her quietly.

Skylar tightened her lips together.

She could see that Lucas was still in an argument with the man out of the corner of her eye, because she was not about to look away from Eric. Who knows what he'd do?

"Hmm," Eric hummed and looked her body up and down. Or had she just imagined that?

Skylar gulped when his gaze reached back to hers, his pupils had widened.

That smirk was back. The same one the leader had given her last night when she'd winked at him.

"Knowing you'll lose, what do I want to bet you?" he said flirtatiously. His voice was quiet, and he'd said it as if he was asking himself that question.

Or, as if he was asking himself what he'd want to do to her.

Holy. Fuck.

"Skylar," Lucas was finally done with his heated conversation.

Which meant her and Eric were done with theirs.

She snapped her head in her brother's direction, hoping that he didn't notice her flushed cheeks.

"Eric told me. Sunday dinner at his place," she quickly said.

Lucas's frown deepened as he glanced between the now expressionless leader and his baby sister.

"He also gave me a lecture on how stupid I was to be drinking last night," she told him, hoping he'd buy her bullshit lie. "So, there is no need for you to tell me the same thing," she rolled her eyes. "Although I'm clearly fine. I need to go, don't want to be late on my first day."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked quickly down the hall, in the direction of where she hoped she was supposed to go.

Dinner on Sunday was definitely going to be interesting.

..

..

..

"Initiate!" Four's voice bellowed from across the room.

Skylar glanced over to see that it was Meckham who was being yelled at. It was clear that the Candor-transfer was struggling. They'd spent the morning running, and he'd been in last. And since then they'd been learning fighting techniques, it had become evident that Meckham wasn't picking up what Four was putting down.

Skylar knew had known that Meckham was sort of wimpy, and had always tried to be his friend because he had been friends with Shade as a kid, but he was proof that she was wrong.

He wasn't just wimpy, he was pathetic.

Skylar decided that she would pair up with him after lunch, instead of with the Erudite transfer she'd paired up with that morning. Unfortunately, they were training separately from the Dauntless born until they began fights the next week. So, she'd chosen the person that had seemed the strongest competitor among the transfers; a kid named Parker who had nearly as much muscle mass as Desmond.

Parker had been more than happy to oblige. And considering he got a few glares from the other, it was clear that she wasn't the only one who thought Parker was competition. It was also quite clear that a majority of the transfers weren't a fan of hers.

Skylar didn't quite care though. Every person in this room was her competition.

Hell, even her Dauntless-born friends she'd seemed to have made the day before was her competition.

Skylar watched as Meckham pathetically punched the bag in front of him, the mousy Amity transfer, whose name she'd already forgotten, that was paired with him, seemed to be struggling as well. Poor guy.

A snapping hand suddenly appeared in front of her. She watched the fingers as they clicked together quickly, "snap, snap, snap."

Did Parker really just fucking snap at her to get her attention? She wasn't a fucking child!

Skylar shot him a glare, "if you ever snap at me again," she growled, "I'll start punching _you_ , instead of this fucking bag."

Parker rolled his eyes but put his hands up in defeat. The eyes around them had snapped to their direction, and to Skylar's dismay, so had Fours. She hadn't realized their trainer had made his way around the mat and was standing only feet from them.

"Is there a problem, initiates?" Four asked. If people thought Eric was frightening, surely, they thought this man was. My god was that glare mind-numbing.

"No sir," both her and Parker said at the same time.

"You sure about that?" Four asked as he stepped between the two of them, "I'd be more than happy to see you two hash it out on the mat if you feel you're ready for it. "

When neither of them answered Four ordered them to focus and moved on. Parker gave her an apologetic look, but she only frowned at him. She didn't give a shit if he was sorry so long as he didn't snap his hands at her like a child again.

..

..

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Skylar's good mood had disappeared entirely.

She had thought she was in good shape; had spent the past few weeks running twice a day and doing extra sit ups, push-ups, just about anything she could from her small, nearly empty house back in Candor to ensure that she was in well enough shape not to struggle. But this training was far more intense than anything she'd ever been through.

She had bruises in places she never thought possible.

Unfortunately, her friend's mood differed greatly from the ones they'd had that morning too. She was greeted with smiles and cheers when she plopped herself on the bench at their table and put her head in her hands.

"Noooo. What is this?" Alec said and poked her. "You were so happy this morning!"

Desmond slid his coffee cup in front of her, "seriously, what happened to the "I'm Dauntless-yippee-Skylar" we've grown to love in the past 24 hours?"

Skylar lifted her head and looked from the coffee cup to the boy across from her.

"It's just regular, plain-old coffee," Desmond promised.

Alec chuckled, "what do you think we are, alcoholics? We only celebrate when the occasion calls for it." He put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands, smiling charmingly at her, he added a "gorgeous" to the end of his statement.

Skylar glared weakly at him.

This time it was Isaac who reached across from where he was sitting between Desmond and Alec who poked her.

"Cut that out," she snapped.

"Someone's hangry," Conrad spoke up beside her, "you should go get food." He pointed to across the room with his fork.

She rolled her eyes but got up to grab a tray and food.

Once she filled it, she turned to see that Meckham was sitting alone. The other initiates were at other tables across the cafeteria.

Skylar sighed to herself. She couldn't just let him sit alone.

"Hey Meckham," Skylar walked up to where he was sitting, his eyes widened.

She nodded to where her friends were waiting, "there's room at our table," she said simply.

When she began to walk away she noticed he wasn't following, so she turned around and stared at him for a moment.

"Are you coming?" Skylar asked him.

Meckham shrugged, "your friends.."

"What about them?" Skylar questioned.

"They ignored me on our way to the training room after we left you with your brother their morning," he explained quietly.

"So?" she questioned again.

"So, they don't like me," he responded simply, as if he were used to it.

Skylar thought for a moment, was he used to it? She didn't remember if he'd had friends in Candor. Never really paid that much attention.

"I like you," Skylar told him.

"Why?" he asked her.

"I don't know?" She told him and raised her eyebrows. "Who cares? Come sit with me."

Meckham seemed to think about it for a moment, but grabbed his tray and followed.

Skylar slid into her spot next to Conrad and scooted him over, so there was room for Meckham. Alec sent his friends an annoyed look.

"Meck is sitting with us," Skylar explained simply and took a bite of her sandwich. Once she'd swallowed, she continued.

"I was planning to ask him to be my partner for the rest of the afternoon too," she looked at Meckham. "Parker is pissing me off."

Meckham smiled weakly and took a bite of his apple, "I saw him snapping at you earlier." He motioned to her with the apple. "I'm surprised you didn't knock him out cold."

"Four intervened before I could," she shrugged.

Meckham took another bite, the others started eating as again as well.

Good, Skylar thought, get over yourselves. Unfriendly baboons.

"I'm still not sure why you want _me_ , as your partner," Meckham said quietly.

There were nods of agreement around them.

Skylar almost growled at them. Assholes.

"Because it's clear that some of the transfers have been training to be at Dauntless for a while," Skylar explained. "you haven't."

Meckham frowned at his plate.

"Which is a good thing in my opinion," Skylar said simply.

Isaac spoke up, clearly not buying it, "how so?"

Skylar ate a french-fry off Alec's plate, who shot her a charming smile.

"Because it means you've not only got room to grow but that you don't have any bad habits. With Four's training, if you work hard enough you'll be better than all of them in no time. Maybe even me."

Meckham smiled a bit, but he was still looking at his tray.

"Plus," Skylar told him, "I need your help."

Meckham looked up at her. "My help?" he asked surprisingly.

"Uh, yeah," Skylar explained. "Parker is obviously our biggest competition among the transfers. You and I need to ruffle his feathers a bit, Candor-style. And I supposed we'll have to teach these brutes," she motioned the the Duauntless-borns sitting around them, "how that's done."

Meckham's smile grew. "What did you have in mind?"

The Dauntless-born at the table was now grinning alongside both of them.

She knew a prank would work.

Skylar shot him a mischievous look, "you'll just have to wait and see."

..

..


	7. Chapter 7

"You've got to be kidding me?" Parker asked.

Skylar rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Nope, I want Meck to be my partner for the rest of the afternoon."

Parker snorted, "feeling sorry for your little boyfriend?"

"Not my boyfriend," Skylar said directly. "And no, I'm just not sure I like you very much."

Parker glared at her, "excuse me?"

"Did I stutter?" Skylar drawled. "Because I don't believe that I did. And actually, I am sure. I. Don't. Like. You."

"You Candors have no manners," Parker told her scathingly. "Plus. I haven't done anything to make you dislike me."

"Hmm," Skylar said. "You're right; you really haven't. Oh well!"

She sauntered toward the punching bag where Meck was standing with the mousy girl and motioned for her to leave.

"But," the girl began.

"I'm stealing your partner," Skylar interrupted.

The girl stared at her.

"You'll be better off with Parker," she told the girl. "Go on little mouse."

"My name is Zoe." the girl told her quietly.

"Well since I don't really give a shit, I prefer Little Mouse," Skylar said as she turned her head to where Four was gathering their attention. "Don't you Meck?"

Meckham rolled his eyes, "go on Zoe. She's right; it's better for us to be with people who can help us. "

Zoe looked toward the hulking Erudite transfer, who was now seething from Skylar's comments. It was evident he was not going to helping anyone. But Skylar didn't quite care. The girl was clearly going to be staying near the bottom. She was small and weak, at least Meckham had a chance.

The little mouse wandered in the direction of her new partner as Four began showing them kicks and other fighting moves they'd be practicing that afternoon.

Skylar whispered under her breath toward her partner, "we should practice these for a bit then go back to what we worked on this morning. Your form was way off."

"You were really watching that closely?" Meckham whispered back.

Skylar nodded.

Although she was out of shape, there was no doubt that she was definitely ahead of everyone else in this room.

"We also need to work on your stamina," Skylar whispered again.

She saw a blush rise to his cheeks out of the corner of her eye.

"Running, perv. Although.." she smirked as the red on his face deepened. "You can't be in the back tomorrow-"

"Initiates!" Four's voice bellowed throughout the room. "It seems like you don't think I've got anything important to say." The trainer's eyes scanned the small group of transfers. Skylar hadn't been the only one talking.

"How about this. You can all run laps until you can't breathe," Four shrugged. "That way you'll be able to shut the fuck up long enough for me to actually do my job!"

Moans broke out across the room.

"Guess you get to work on your stamina now," Skylar murmured, earning an annoyed look from her friend.

..

..

..

..

The past four days had gone by in a blur. Skylar ached everywhere, but since she had been training extra with Meckham and her friends, so she wasn't complaining. They had started to spar, and it seemed that her friend was coming along well enough. He wasn't at the bottom, that was for sure.

He had been helped her get back at Parker too, in multiple ways.

Every day they switched his clothing out for different ones, putting his dirty laundry folded in with the clean, and the clean with his dirty. He'd been swearing up a storm every day after his shower. The night before, they'd snuck in and stolen his towel. Unfortunately, he'd been perfectly content running back into the room to take someone elses.

A few hours before that, they'd convinced the hairdresser to "accidentally" dye his hair green when he was getting it cut. Unfortunately, he'd said it was a good look for him and decided to keep it permanently.

Parker was irritating, and she knew for sure she'd find the perfect way to get under his skin eventually."

She hadn't seen Perseus since the first day and Lucas since the morning he'd pulled her aside before training. Though she had seen Jami a few times, he'd been swamped. She was looking forward to dinner with them the next night, for oddly enough she was nervous as well.

"Sky!" Meckham called her name across the cafeteria. He was sitting next to an annoyed Alec, who looked like he was having a pretty heated conversation with Isaac.

"Baby sister!" a voice called from the other side of the room. Skylar turned to see that it was Jami, who was sitting at a table with a group of supervisors, including Lucas and their leader, Eric.

She shot her fellow initiates a smile and motioned to her brother's table, Meckham nodded and turned back to his table-mates. Alec didn't look happy that she wasn't there. He'd get over it though, and they'd get over Meckham eventually. She knew that Candors could be hard to get used to, but he was a nice guy, and he was working hard in training. He needed to be around people like them.

Once she reached Jami's table, she slid between him and a tall, dark haired man who looked her body up and down. Once she sat down, she felt him scoot closer to her and rub his leg against hers.

"Hello Baby Sky Sky," Jami said through his bagel. "Guess who I was talking to earlier?"

Skylar took a sip of her water and shrugged.

"Uriah." He took another bite of his bagel. "And guess what he said about you?"

"Who the hell is Uriah?" she questioned before taking a bite of her yogurt.

"One of your trainers, dummy," he explained. "Dark-toned skin, panther tattoo on his arm?"

Skylar thought about it for a moment, but it wasn't ringing any bells.

Jami snorted. "Well, I was going to tell you he was interested, and what he said about your "tight little ass," but if you haven't noticed him, I'll tell him not to waste his time."

"Change the subject," Lucas glared down the table at them.

Skylar was about to answer until she felt a hand on her upper thigh, coming from her left side. She pushed it off and continued to eat, but he still kept his thigh plastered to hers. She pushed it away and turned back to her brother.

"Don't tell him that yet," she smiled. "Let me get a good look at him first."

Jami laughed, "Alrightyyyy, anyone other trainers catch your eye? Or anyone else at Dauntless?"

Actually no, no one had. Though, she hadn't been looking. Not only was she focused on training, but she was also still waiting for the guards to rotate from Candor. She had a few friends there, one of whom she was quite interested in getting to know better.

Skylar shook her head and started finished her yogurt, but Jami shot her a look like he didn't believe her.

"I'm saving myself for marriage, remember?"

Jami elbowed her and cracked a broad smile.

"Or," he said and squinted his eyes at her, "you're waiting to see if that little Candor-transfer lives up to your expectations, huh? You have been helping him in training, right?"

Wait, did he mean Meckham? Skylar laughed and shoved the hand that had appeared on her thigh away again.

"God no," she said and shook her head. "Not no, that I'm helping him because I am. And trust me, he'll be in the top five. I mean no that I'm interested in him."

Jami hummed and began talking to a few others at her table, so she focused on her muffin next. Blueberry, her favorite.

After she had taken the first bite, however, she felt a hand on her thigh again, this time much higher. This guy really wasn't catching on, was he?

She clenched her jaw and turned to glare at the man, who grinned at her.

"Who is this?" She asked, jaw still clenched. The entire table turned in their direction.

"I'm Brady," the man answered, clearly thinking she was asking because she was interested. He was in for a surprise.

"Well, Brady," she put her elbow on the table and her head in her hand, tilting her head as she spoke. "I'm not sure what you've heard about me. But I'm not really the kind of girl who likes to be touched by people I don't know. So, if you don't stop putting your hand on my thigh, I'm going to shove this," she picked up her spoon with her other hand and pointed to him with it, "so far up your ass, that you aren't going to be able to walk for a month."

Brady's eyes widened, and he attempted to scoot over a bit, but the man between him and Eric wasn't budging. Probably because Eric wasn't letting him. Skylar tilted her head around to see that their leader was glaring alongside Lucas in Brady's direction.

"You know," Brady said and stood from the table. "I forgot I was supposed to meet someone. So, I'll just uh, go." He grabbed his tray.

"Good idea," Lucas shouted. "And don't plan on sitting here tomorrow Brady."

Brady gulped and walked away quickly.

"Fucking dick," Jami said from beside her.

"Seriously, pretty sick of dick right now," she said and took a bite of her muffin. She turned her body, so she was no longer looking at her oldest brother and his friends, and only had a view of Jami and whoever was sitting across from him. "Where does that Bethany chick work?"

Jami grinned and leaned forward, setting his half-eaten bagel on his tray.

"Ohh! She's bartending at one of the bars just off the Pit tonight! The Dark Room!" he told her enthusiastically. "You can be my wingman," he grinned.

"Hah!" Skylar took a bite of his bagel.

"HEY!" He pushed her down the bench. "Don't eat my food you little bitch."

"You," she took another bite and plopped it on his plate, "are some kind of stupid of you think I'm going to be your wingman! Now when I KNOW, I can get that hot piece to play for the other team for a while. Why the hell would I help you?"

"Because" Jami began.

"She isn't allowed in the bars," Lucas growled from down the table.

"Oh," Jami said and poked his bottom lip out. "Can't we make an exception? I mean, she's a Smith for damn-sake. I won't let her drink!"

Skylar didn't have to turn around to know that Lucas was glaring at the two of them.

"We're trying to eat," he said, his voice seething. "If you are going to be disgusting go somewhere else and talk. And please, for fuck's sake Sky, put on a shirt! You're sending people the wrong message. And you wonder why Brady was throwing himself at you."

"Excuse me?" Skylar snapped her head toward Lucas. "Just because I'm wearing a tank-top doesn't mean people have the right to put their hands on me if that's what you're insinuating?"

Lucas glared at her, "No, I'm just saying it'd be nice if your brothers weren't forced to look at your tits all the time. And that guys wouldn't want to touch you so much if you weren't showing off all the time."

"Ohhkay," Jami said and stood up, grabbing both of their trays as he did. "Let's just go sit over there for a bit," he motioned to an empty table across the cafeteria.

"Fine," she snarled at Lucas, sending him a smirk and staying in her seat. "I'll stop wearing tank tops."

Lucas smiled at her, thinking he'd won. But he hadn't, not by a long shot.

Skylar stood up abruptly and ripped the black tank top off her body and threw it on the table in front of her older brother. It had almost landed in his yogurt.

"Oh, fuck me," Jami said exasperatingly.

"It's always so hot in here anyway!" she said, ignoring the heads that snapped in their direction. Even Eric's snapped toward her uncovered stomach. "I'm perfectly content just wearing a sports bra around. Plenty of others do."

She stood and grabbed her tray from Jami, cursing under her breath, then marched over to the trash. She pulled the muffin and her water bottle off and dumped the rest of it.

"Dude, I told you to let me deal with that!" she heard Jami say to her brother. "You know you can't tell her what to do, you, asshole. You have to make it seem like it's her idea!"

She turned and shot Jami a glare, who stuck his tongue out at her and grabbed her tank top from the table. As he walked toward her, she walked out of the cafeteria, ignoring the glances she received along the way. Except for one, from an attractive girl with purple hair, whose face was covered in piercings. She shot her a wink and earned a grin right back. Damn right.

"Don't even think about it Vi," she heard Jami say to the girl as she exited the cafeteria. "My sister doesn't need to deal with the crazy-ass bull shit that comes with screwing around with you."

Skylar stopped just outside the door and waited for her brother, who exited the cafeteria only seconds later. He looked surprised to find her waiting. She snatched the tank top from his hands and walked toward the shops, throwing it back on as she went.

"Come on Jami," Skylar said, motioning for her brother to follow. "You're helping me pick out some new shirts, and I'll need you there to confirm that it's going to Lucas's tab. If he wants me to wear more clothing, he's paying for it."

..

..


	8. Chapter 8

Please let me know if you find any mistakes. I've checked it a few times, but I'm only human! Also the next chapter will be in Eric's POV, and after that, things get more exciting :] Thanks for reading

..

..

..

..

"Oh, my," Meck said as Skylar rolled into training, almost late again. "What a cute top you have on," he said in a high-pitched voice. Laughter erupted around him. Skylar was happy to see that it was the Dauntless born he'd been sitting with earlier. Clearly, they were getting the picture that Meck was officially a part of their group.

She rolled up her sleeves and shot him a glare, "very funny asshole!" She threw herself on the mat beside them and laid down on her back, covering her face with her hands.

"Why are my brothers so embarrassing?" She asked no one in particular. "I mean seriously; half this faction walks around half-naked! I wear a tank top, and it's the end of the world?"

"Well," Meck explained and stretched his arms, knee pulled to his chest. Skylar uncovered an eye and peeked at him as he spoke. She noticed Little Mouse watching him curiously from across the training room and hid her smile. "It might have something to do with how you talk all the time?"

She sat up quickly and stared at him.

"You are constantly making crude jokes. And you talk about sex," he explained and smiled. "A lot."

"There is nothing wrong with being open when it comes to stuff like that," she said simply. "It's human nature."

"That is something I can agree on," a voice came from behind her.

Skylar rolled her eyes and ignored Parker.

"The bodies need for sex is natural. Being attracted to others or acting weird about it pointless," Parker continued, "just like monogamy is."

"I don't think monogamy is pointless," Skylar turned to stare at the green-haired transfer.

"Really?" he questioned. "I guess I just assumed with how much you sleep around."

"I don't sleep around you dickhead!" She stood up and crossed the mat to him. "Just because I flirt and joke around a lot doesn't mean I'm a whore. I haven't slept with a single person since I got here!"

Parker looked up at her with a raised brow before standing and folding his arms. "You had me fooled, slut."

Skylar didn't stop until she was right in front of him, but was stopped before she could throw a punch.

"ENOUGH," Four's voice bellowed through the room. "If you two want to fight, then go right ahead!" He motioned for everyone else to get off the mat, leaving them alone on it.

"I thought we didn't start fighting until next week?" Meckham questioned.

"Well it seems like these two want to get started early," Four said with a smirk. "So, go on you two! Get it out of your system so the rest of us can move on with training."

Skylar stared at their trainer, then back to Parker when he took a step back and raised his fists. Seriously? Did he really think that he would be able to beat her?

Skylar narrowed her eyes, then smiled menacingly. Parker's lips twitched, then frowned as she took her stance, motioning for him to make the first move.

"Come on lettuce head," she prodded him. "Show me what you've got!"

..

..

..

..

"Dude!" Meckham put his arm around her as they walked toward the tattoo parlor. "I still can't believe you put him in the infirmary. And you only have a few bruises! Your first fight, a win! There is no way you won't be near the top by the end of initiation."

"Yeah well," she pushed past him and into the parlor. "I really don't like him."

Her knuckles were throbbing from the beating she'd given him. After he'd managed to pin her to the ground and make a suggestive comment, she'd lost her shit.

"Skylar!" The two initiates froze and turned to see a cheerful Zachary yelling to them from a chair, her brother Perseus standing next to him with a grin.

"Congrats you, sexy bitch! We heard about your fight!" Zachary drawled. "Heard you beat the living crap out of him. Good for you!" He glanced at her swollen knuckles proudly. It was amazing to her how many people viewed injuries like that as a sign of strength. And how quickly news spread. People had been nodding to her since they'd left training.

Perseus smacked his friend on the back of the head. "Don't call my sister sexy you douche."

The tattoo artist glared at her brother, "do I need to kick you out?"

"No," Persi narrowed his eyes at the artist. "I barely touched him."

The artist ignored him and glanced to Skylar. She realized it was the same one who did her tattoo only a few days earlier. "How's yours healing up?"

"Good," She nodded. "I was hoping to get another one, to celebrate. This one is small too."

The artist nodded. "I'm almost done with this one," he motioned with his tattoo gun to Zachary. "Then you can have your turn."

"What the fuck?" Perseus said to him angrily. "I told you I wanted one after him."

The artist shot him a glare. "You'll go when I say you go pretty boy. And that will be after your little sister here."

Perseus took a step toward him and folded his arms. Skylar swore for a moment that Lucas was standing in front of her, and not the brother who she almost never saw angry.

"Are you sure about that Mikey? Because I don't think you are."

Skylar watched her brother all but growl at the man with a smile on her face. The artist glared back at him but didn't say anything as he continued working on Zachary's arm.

"Did Lucas and Jami talk to you about a time for tomorrow?" Perseus turned to her. "They had been arguing about whether to do a late lunch or a late dinner. I guess they both have plans to work around." His voice made it seem like he was just as annoyed as she was at hearing the words.

"They can't clear their schedule for one night?" She asked. "Where are they right now? I'll go ask them."

Perseus shrugged, and Skylar noticed Meck had walked over to talk to another artist.

"I think they're at the Dark Room," Zachary told her. Perseus shot his friend a glare, who only smiled at him broadly.

"I'll be right back, tell Meck," Skylar backed away from them.

"Sky, you aren't allowed in the bars!" Pursues followed her and shot another menacing look toward Zachary before leaving the large parlor.

Skylar marched toward the pit with a purpose, once she arrived she asked the closest person she could find where the bar was, then made her way to where she'd pointed.

"Skylar seriously," Perseus pleaded. "They're probably with leadership right now! You can't just barge in!"

To hell, she couldn't. She would only be there for a minute anyway.

When she walked into the bar, she had to wait a moment for her eyes to adjust. The name of the bar was clearly because of the lack of lightness in the room, not surprising. She slid up to the bar and skimmed her eyes across the booths and small tables that covered the tightly packed room. The atmosphere was thrilling, loud and heated. She would definitely be spending a lot of time here once she was done with initiation.

Skylar's eyes landed on a booth across the room where she saw Lucas sitting next to Eric. She was surprised to see that both of them were grinning at a man sitting next to Jami, who looked like he was telling a story.

"Damn it Sky," Persi said from behind her. She ignored him and pushed her way toward the table, stopping with her arms folded once she arrived.

"I thought I told you that you weren't allowed in here," Lucas growled up at her, his grin gone entirely.

She shot him a charming smile. "I'm only here for a quick second. I ran into Persi at the tattoo parlor, and he said you wanted to discuss a time for tomorrow."

Her brother groaned from next to her before sliding into the bench beside Jami, who took a sip of his beer and leaned back with a smile.

"Fine," Lucas said. "Seven," he motioned to Jami with his beer.

"No way!" Jami sat up. "We agreed on three-thirty. Late lunch, remember?"

"And I told you I had plans," Lucas roared.

Skylar rolled her eyes and motioned for her oldest brother to scoot over, who shot her a glare.

"What? At least let me sit while you two decide on a fucking time!"

He reluctantly let her in, and the bartender took no time visiting their table to see if she wanted a drink.

"Yes, I do actually," she leaned forward and said to him. "I'll have whatever you usually drink," she winked at him.

"No, you won't," Jami said from across the table and smiled at the bartender. "She'll have a chocolate milk."

Lucas chuckled from beside her.

"To hell, I will, I'm not five!"

"Um," the bartender said nervously. "I'll just come back."

"Bring us all another round, and two of what I'm drinking. My tab." Eric said from beside Lucas. His best friend glared at him as the bartender left quickly. "Congratulations on winning your first fight," he said to her, but didn't look in her direction.

"She's fine having one drink as long as she's with us," he told Lucas. "No one is going to question me, or you, and she doesn't have training tomorrow. Aren't you the one always telling me to let loose every once in awhile?"

Skylar stared at the leader curiously. So much for being ruthless. He sure seemed fine to her.

When she turned back forward, Jami was grinning at her. Probably thinking about the spanking comment he'd made days ago.

"Who's your friend?" Skylar ignored him and nodded toward the man sitting across from Eric.

His friend shot her a strange look of annoyance. "He's introduced you to me three times already; I was sitting across from you this morning at breakfast."

Skylar raised both of her eyebrows, had he? If so she didn't remember.

"Tony," he said and shook his head, finishing the rest of his beer. "I'm Tony. I work with Jami in the control room."

Jami was still grinning at her as his friend spoke. He knew what was coming.

"Gotcha," she grinned back at her brother. "Timmy, that's a really nice name."

Tony glared at her from across the table as the bartender arrived with their drinks, placing a cold beer in front of Skylar. She shrugged and took a sip before he left.

"Oh," the bartender spoke to her. "And yours isn't on his tab," he nodded to Eric. "A guy at the bar paid for it. Do you know who Ward Palmer is?"

Skylar raised an eyebrow, yes, she did. And she could have sworn he'd told her they weren't back until the Wednesday after initiation.

She rose from her seat a bit and scanned her eyes across the bar, eye lighting up when she saw him leaning against the bar, smirking at her. She went to stand up but Lucas stopped her and motioned for the bartender to leave.

"What? I do know him," she explained. "He works the guard around the Candor sector. We're, um, friends."

"To hell you are," Persi said from across the table, folding his arms.

She sat back down with wide eyes. Every person at the table looked pissed. Royally pissed.

Both Lucas and Jami leaned forward at once.

"Red card," all three of her brothers said at once.

Skylar froze in her seat.

What.

The.

Actual.

Fuck.

All three of them?

She looked between her brothers, who were all glaring, shooting each other knowing looks. She leaned back in her seat and took a long gulp of her drinking, downing half of it in one shot. The air between them all was so tense; she was sure she could cut it with a knife.

"Red card huh? All three of you?" Her voice came out like a snake's bite, poisonous and quick.

No one answered. Skylar shook her head and smiled grimly.

Jami said quietly. "You wouldn't still be sitting here if you genuinely like the guy, you'd be over there. You're attracted to him, that's it. And you shouldn't be, he's an awful human being."

Skylar didn't bother telling him how many times she'd heard that about each of her brothers, especially Lucas. She looked at Jami as she took a sip of her beer bitterly. So much for waiting for Ward to get back as she had been. She was no way she was going to try anything with a guy that god red-carded by all three of her brothers.

"Okay," Tony said. "Can anyone explain to me what a red card means?"

Lucas chugged his drink before explaining, but Skylar got to it first.

"Shade came up with it," she sighed. Years had passed since he'd died and said his name still hurt. "When I was nine, I had a crush on this boy he despised. So, he came up with a brilliant idea." She emphasized "brilliant," so he knew she didn't feel like it was all that brilliant at the moment.

"Each one of us got three red cards to use on each other throughout our lives. If we didn't like the person someone was seeing, we could use it, and they had to end it, immediately. Others in the family can use their card to veto the decision, or use two of their own."

Another silence broke out between them.

"Who is Shade?" Tony asked her. "Do you have another brother?"

Skylar finished her drink and set the empty glass on the table, then slid from the booth and stood, ignoring his question. No one else answered him either.

"Let me know which of you are using a card," she told them.

"Are you going to veto it?" Persi questioned. "If so, I have a feeling we all will one so you can't.

Skylar stared at him. Did they all hate Ward that much? He was an asshole, she knew that much, but he didn't seem so bad. And he was a good kisser, though she hadn't done much more than that with him. He'd tried, but she was still a virgin, and she hadn't been about to change that before she even transferred. She doubted any of her brothers knew that she was anyways.

She shook her head, "No. Eric, do you mind letting me know when dinner is tomorrow, once they decide? And when I can come over to cook?"

Her voice was flat, and she didn't know why. She didn't even like Ward that much. But the fact that all of her brothers were so willing to use a card, so quickly, irked her to the bone. What had she missed about him that they hated so much? What had she not seen in his pretty face that they did?

"I'll let you know in the morning, Sky," Jami said quietly, looking at his beer.

She ignored him and kept her gaze on Eric, whose face was neutral, conveying no emotion when he nodded to her.

Skylar walked away from them and to the bar, right up to where Ward was standing.

"Hey gorgeous, it's good to see you again, and to finally have you here in Dauntless with me," he told her and tried to pull her in for a hug. She stepped past him and motioned toward the bar.

"Can you put my drink on a tab for me, please? I can pay for it after initiation when my points work here." She told the bartender.

He sent wide eyes toward Ward, who was glaring down at her. The bartender nodded and introduced himself as Damon.

She turned toward Ward, who had shot a menacing glare toward her brother's table. She didn't bother turning to see their faces; she knew they were probably glaring right back.

"I don't know what you did to them, or why you thought it was a good idea not to tell me that all three of my brothers hated you so much before starting," she motioned in between them, "whatever you, thought that this was. But you should know, I don't fuck around with liars, and I have no interested in any kind of man who can elicit a response like that from a Smith."

She made her way past him, but his arm shot out and stopped her.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he growled down at her. "You told me that you wouldn't see me if I wasn't single. I broke up with my girlfriend for you."

Skylar laughed at him; she hadn't known that.

"Better crawl back to her," she told him. "Because I'm not interested anymore." She glanced back to the table to see that both Eric and Lucas were standing, anger lined their features. Jami was leaning past Persi to watch them.

"Why, because your stupid ass brothers don't like me?" he let go of her arm, shoving it away. "That's horse shit. You can't possibly care that much what they think? They're dickheads!"

Skylar raised her eyebrow, "clearly I do. And talking about them like that isn't getting you anywhere." she said it like she was trying to let him down easy, his glare deepened.

"But no, it's not just that. More, well, more interesting things have caught my eye." She glanced back to Eric, hoping that Ward didn't notice she meant him. Because she didn't, that would be crazy. He was her brothers best friend. And their leader. And much older. And not **_that_** cute.

"See you around, Ward," she said confidentially and strode out of the bar. Wondering, as she went, what the hell had just really happened, and why they hated him so much, including Eric.


	9. Chapter 9

Eric's Point of View

..

..

Eric watched his best friend pull her sister away from her friends, trying his best not to convey his annoyance seeing her arm wrapped around the little Candor transfer that the rumors said she was probably dating.

"Listen, I know what I said last night was inappropriate. I was only joking. I didn't mean it." Skylar told her brother.

"You know I can tell when you're lying right?" Lucas told her.

Eric forced himself to contain his smirk, of course, she was lying. She'd been pretty clear last night.

"That isn't why I'm talking to you though," Lucas sighed. "Dinner Sunday."

Eric watched as Skylar held up her hand, stopping her brother from continuing. "I swear if you say that you are canceling it I will disown you."

Eric could have sworn she was going to start biting, the way she was growling at her brother. No one talked to him like that, Even Eric didn't talk to Lucas like that, and he didn't speak to him like that. It was just how it was.

Lucas didn't do anything about it and only stared at her though.

"I'm serious. Don't piss me off and ruin my good mood."

From where Eric was standing, it looked a little too late for that. She was so much like Lucas it was almost weird. How could he not see that in his little sister?

Eric internally thanked Gaven for interrupting them, because he was given the opportunity to talk to her. And because the growl that Skylar sent Lucas when he stopped her with a raise of his finger send shivers up his spine, and a heated feeling so deep in his groin he knew even a cold shower later wouldn't help him forget it.

"You're just like him, jumping to the worst conclusion immediately," Eric told her, doing the best to keep his cool. He had to adjust himself and stand straighter when she clenched her jaw and stared at him. He could only think about how much he wanted to see how wide she could open it.

FUCK.

"He was just going to tell you that you're all having dinner at my place. And that you're cooking."

When she looked away from him, he felt a surge of anger coursed through his veins. He wanted to see her green eyes again. Wanted to look so deeply into them she couldn't look away. Eric stepped toward her and waited for her turn back to him; thankfully it didn't take long.

"Your place?" Skylar asked him. "Mmmkay. What am I cooking?"

He contained his shock at how steady her voice was. Much like her brothers, it was clear she could contain her emotions better than most. Usually, when he stood this close to someone, they were running scared. He tilted her head.

"Whatever you want," he told her, trying his best not to look down at her chest. She was wearing another tank top. This one was dark gray with red stitching. He wanted to rip it off of her. "I want dessert too."

Fuck, he hadn't intended for it to come out like that.

"What kind of desert?" Skylar had lowered her voice, and she kept nodding. He wanted her to stop, because every time she moved her head up and down, her chest moved with it. It was making him crave, well, dessert. He stared into her deep green eyes, glad that she wasn't looking away again.

"Cake?" she asked him. Her voice sounded innocent, and all it did was make him think about licking frosting off of her.

He shouldn't be thinking like this. Not with his best friend only feet away from them. Not at all.

"Sure. But nothing compares the cake in the cafeteria," he told her confidentially. It didn't. The cake that Charlie made was phenomenal. After spending his life in Erudite, away from sweets, he made it a point to eat it often. He loved sweet things. And spicy. The girl standing in front of him seemed to have a bit of both, it would explain why he was craving her when he'd never even had a taste.

"I'll bet I could make a better one." She shrugged. Before talking she had tightened her arms, pushing her chest up even more. His heart leaped to his throat. He couldn't help himself; his voice was much lower when he spoke again.

"What are we betting?" He took another step toward her, not being able to stop his feet from moving. She smelt so good. Like coffee and buttered toast. He had an urge to kiss her, taste it on her lips. Fuck Lucas being down the hall, he could take him, easy.

"What do you want to bet?" When she spoke, he saw a flash of light in her mouth. He narrowed his eyes at her lips. Had she gotten a piercing? In her mouth, her tongue?

"Did you get your tongue pierced?" he lowered his voice, afraid if he said it any louder he'd draw someone's attention. The feeling he had in his lower region made him shift again, especially when she tightened her lips to a thin line.

"Hmm," Eric couldn't help but look down her body. The curves the tight leggings she was wearing made his face warm. "Knowing you'll lose, what do I want to bet you?" God damn the things he could win from her in a bet send his blood boiling. There were so many things he wanted to do to her.

"Skylar," Lucas said walking back to them. Eric almost cursed to himself. What was he doing? Talking to her like this, was he crazy? He had to stop drinking; it was definitely killing brain cells.

Skylar snapped her head toward the voice, her cheeks reddening. Eric wondered if they would be that red if he were to play with her. Probably. God damn.

"Eric told me. Sunday dinner at his place," she sputtered. Lucas glanced at Eric, who decided glaring back at him was the best option right now. "He also gave me a lecture on how stupid I was to be drinking last night. So, there is no need for you to tell me to. Although, I'm clearly fine. I need to go, don't want to be late on my first day."

With that, she turned away from them, offering Eric a view he had to force himself to look away from.

"You aren't going to punish her," Lucas asked him. "Right?"

Eric shook his head and walked down the hallway with his friend. Of course, he wasn't going to punish her for drinking. Had it been anyone else, yes. But not his best friend's sibling. Call it favoritism; he didn't care. Lucas was the only friend he really had. Which was why he had to get laid, take his mind off the green-eyed spitfire that had just walked away from them.

..

..

..

Four days had gone by, and he hadn't seen her once. Lucas hadn't mentioned her, and neither had Persi. Though Eric hadn't seen their youngest brother, Jami, who probably had spent tons of time with his little sister, and for some reason it made him want to punch something.

Especially considering Jonas had told Rich just yesterday about how everyone was talking about the gorgeous new Smith girl and how much she was like Jami. There were rumors that she was sleeping with Jacobson's son and the Candor transfer she was so close with.

Who the fuck knew if they were true. Eric had told them to keep their mouths shut, or he'd kill them for Lucas's sake, and since then he hadn't heard a single person speak a word about any Smith's since. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

"Sky!" Eric turned his head to where someone had called the girl's name across the large room. It was the first time he and Lucas had eaten in the cafeteria since their last encounter with her, and hearing her name send lightning through his veins.

"Baby sister!" Jami called from the end of their table, waving frantically to his sister, who nodded toward her friends and made her way toward them, a grin covering her perfectly framed face. Eric cursed the Smith's for looking like Gods under his breath and looked back to his food. He hoped they would stay quiet during their breakfast. He wasn't so lucky.

"Hello, Baby Sky Sky. Guess who I was talking to earlier?" Jamison said to his younger sister. Eric wanted to throw something at him for talking with his mouth full. Was it so hard to have manners in this fucking place? Skylar didn't answer him, so he spoke again.

"Uriah. And guess what he said about you?" Again, mouth full. Fucking really?

"So anyway," Lucas said to him quietly. Eric tried to listen, but listening to two conversations wasn't easy. Especially when he tried not to smirk when she didn't know who Uriah was, good, he was a shithead, just like his brother Zeke. Troublemaker. Jami was just like them, so of course, they'd be friends.

"I figure if he wants to be late all the time, he can find a new job," Lucas told him and Jared, who was sitting between him and Brady.

"Well, I was going to tell you he was interested, and what he said about your "tight little ass," but if you haven't noticed him, I'll tell him not to waste his time." Eric heard Jami tell his sister. He wanted to know what Uriah thought about her ass because it was probably similar to what he thought; that it was fucking perfect. Actually no, he didn't want to hear that shithead say that, he would probably hit him.

Lucas shot Eric a glare, realizing he must have been listening to his younger siblings conversation. "Change the subject." Thankfully, Lucas moved his glare to them.

Eric wasn't surprised when Skylar ignored her older brother; it seemed her motive at all times to do whatever she wanted.

"Don't tell him that yet. Let me get a good look at him first."

Eric took a sip of his coffee to cover up his annoyance. She'd be disappointed, Uriah was not good looking.

"Alrightyyyy, anyone other trainers catch your eye? Or anyone else at Dauntless?"

Eric almost snapped then and there thinking about the other trainers catching her eye. Fucking Four? The damn Stiff wasn't even hot. Lucas took a bite of his toast and stared at him. Eric glared back, trying to convey that his best friend's siblings were annoying him, not interesting.

"I'm saving myself for marriage, remember?"

"Or, you're waiting to see if that little Candor-transfer lives up to your expectations, huh? You have been helping him in training, right?"

So, the rumors were true; she was interested in that kid. Of course, she was, he had grown up in Candor with her. To Eric's delight, she laughed at her brother. And fuck was her laugh infectious; he tried his best not to smile as she denied it.

Who is this?" Skylar's voice had changed. She spoke roughly as if she were about to tip the scales. Eric couldn't count how many times Lucas had flipped like that. On one, one moment, on ten, the next.

"I'm Brady." Eric could tell that Lucas wanted to smack the man for talking to her like that. Like he wanted to devour her. He followed his best friend's gaze to where they were sitting.

"Well, Brady," Eric watched Skylar put her elbow on the table and her head in her hand, tilting her head as she spoke. The way he was looking at her could probably make a demon run back to hell, fucking Christ.

"I'm not sure what you've heard about me. But I'm not really the kind of girl who likes to be touched by people I don't know. So, if you don't stop putting your hand on my thigh, I'm going to shove this," she picked up her spoon with her other hand and pointed to him with it, "so far up your ass, that you aren't going to be able to walk for a month."

Eric felt Jared be pushed toward him as Brady tried to scoot away from her. He tensed and wouldn't let Jared budge, who glanced back at him, then right back to Brady.

Skylar turned her head to look at Eric, and a thrill shot down his spine. Her eyes were so fucking perfect. Just like the rest of her.

Brady stood abruptly from the table. "You know, I forgot I was supposed to meet someone. So, I'll just uh, go." He grabbed his tray and took off, Lucas yelling after him not to sit with them again. Eric wanted to throw something. IF only he'd been the one sitting next to her. Would she have had the same reaction? He really wanted to find out.

Eric turned when Skylar spoke to Jami again, not hearing what her brother has said first. "Seriously, pretty sick of dick right now," she said and took a bite of her muffin. She wasn't getting the right dick. Eric could probably change her mind about that. Unfortunately, she turned away from them, focusing on her brother.

"Where does that Bethany chick work?"

Lucas took a bite of his toast again, rolling his eyes again. He looked disgusted. Honestly, Eric wouldn't mind seeing that play out. Bethany, was, pretty good looking.

Eric tried to tune the two of them out.

"Are you coming with me later?" he asked his friend gruffly. "Max wants us to check out-" he stopped talking when Jamison's voice took over their space. "HEY! Don't eat my food you little bitch."

"You, are some kind of stupid of you think I'm going to be your wingman! Now when I KNOW, I can get that hot piece to play for the other team for a while. Why the hell would I help you?"

Eric cringed when she spoke with her mouth full. Not because he wanted to hit her like he had when Jami did it, but because he wanted to stuff her mouth full of something else. So badly. So. Fucking. Badly. He was glad the table was covering his lower region, shifting to fix himself as he tried to shake the image out of his brain. God damn, he needed to get laid. And not, with his best friend's sister.

Before Jamison could answer, Lucas spoke from across the table, using his voice that usually sent people running in the other direction. "She isn't allowed in the bars," Lucas growled from down the table.

"Oh. Can't we make an exception? I mean, she's a Smith for damn-sake. I won't let her drink!"

Eric was tempted, so fucking tempted, to agree to it for Lucas. But, he knew it would cause nothing but problems, so he looked down and kept his mouth shut tightly. Still shaking the images from his mind.

"We're trying to eat! If you are going to be disgusting go somewhere else and talk. And please, for fuck's sake Sky, put on a shirt! You're sending people the wrong message. And you wonder why Brady was throwing himself at you."

Eric looked up to Lucas, had he really just said that? If Brady weren't a moron, he'd know better than to put his hands on her. Especially with two of her brothers here. Though he had no idea what Eric thought about it, and Eric desperately wanted him to know that he wanted to rip his throat out.

"Excuse me? Just because I'm wearing a tank-top doesn't mean people have the right to put their hands on me if that's what you're insinuating?"

Eric couldn't help but smirk, hiding it behind his coffee. She sounded just like Lucas now, menacing voice and all.

"No, I'm just saying it'd be nice if your brothers weren't forced to look at your tits all the time. And that guys wouldn't want to touch you so much if you weren't showing off all the time."

Eric didn't want to admit it to himself, but he would want to touch her no matter what she was wearing. Seriously, she could cover head to toe in Abnegation wear, and he'd still want to rip it off. He watched his best friend as his younger brother tried to convince Skylar to move tables.

"Fine, I'll stop wearing tank tops." She was snarling at him now. Eric turned his head to watch because he'd be damned if she was really going to agree to that. Damn it, Lucas!

To his pleasure, she stood up quickly and ripped the fabric from her skin, the shiny-smooth black sports bra glistened against the cafeteria's fluorescent lights. Eric frowned when he realized how many eyes had turned toward her with interest. Maybe Lucas had a point, which she was throwing herself out there a bit too much. He almost jumped up and ripped his own shirt off to force her to wear, but he held himself back, mesmerized by her abs.

She'd been in Dauntless, what, five, six days? And she already had a six pack? How long had she actually been training for before transferring?

"It's always so hot in here anyway. I'm perfectly content just wearing a sports bra around. Plenty of others do!"

She had a really good point, actually. Many of the girls walked around in skimpy training shorts and sports bras when they were off duty, though, many didn't.

"Dude, I told you to let me deal with that! You know you can't tell her what to do, you, asshole. You have to make it seem like it's her idea!" Jami jogged after his sister, Eric's eyes followed him. He didn't find it hard to believe that she didn't like being told what to do, but he sure wanted to try.

Eric turned back to see that Lucas had his face in his hands again and was cursing under his breath.

"How hard are you going to hit me if I admit that was probably the best thing that had ever happened in this cafeteria, aside from when Melanie DeAchelo and Vi Cami made out last year?" Jared asked Lucas.

Eric couldn't stop himself from shoving the man sitting next to him on the bench backward, flinging his half-empty tray of food after him, orange juice following.

"FUCK ERIC," Jared yelled and sat up on the floor.

"You're lucky I don't beat your ass," he growled at him and turned back to his best friend.

"ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT LUKE'S SISTER?" Eric's voice echoed across the room as he scanned the tables around them. Every person looked away, avoiding his eye contact.

"I told you, she'd going to be the death of me man," Luke said as he stood up from the table. Eric followed him out of the cafeteria without clearing their trays, glaring at everyone who crossed them on their way out.

..

..

..

Eric glared at Gianna as she walked by them, leaving the bar quickly the second they had arrived, head held high. Stupid bitch. He'd slept with her a few times last year, and he had no idea why. She was a royal cunt.

Luke and he took their usual booth and were brought their usual drinks immediately. Luke told the bartender to bring Jamison's and Tony's drinks as well. Eric grunted across the table at his best friend, who rolled his eyes. He had hoped Jami hadn't been invited to this gathering. Stupid little fuck talked too much.

"Hey Lucas," the bartender said as he dropped the other two drinks back, moving back when Lucas moved over to sit next to Eric. "Let you sister know I said congrats. Heard she won her first fight by a landslide!"

First fight? Lucas scrunched his face and turned to him, "I thought you said they don't fight until next week?" he questioned.

"They don't," Eric took a large sip of his beer. "At least it's not scheduled until next week."

Lucas hummed, "Skylar probably pissed one of the trainers off. Guessed it worked in her favor."

Eric couldn't tell if his friends voice was proud or not, but it sure sounded it. It was becoming more and more clear to him how similar the two really were. Other than the fact that Lucas was a brooding man and his younger sister was a drop-dead gorgeous female.

Eric didn't answer, so Lucas continued talking about something he barely listened to, only nodding in response.

"So, I saw the look you gave Gianna on her way out," Lucas said knowingly. "Not willing to give her another ride, I take it?"

Eric snorted. No, he most definitely was not.

"Dude, you can't run from every woman in this place. One of them has to be good enough for you," Lucas teased and looked up, noticing that his brother had waltzed into the bar like he owned the place. He shot winks to a few girls and high fived people along the way.

"How long have you been here?" Tony asked them, sliding into the bench across from Eric, who didn't answer him. Eric had never particularly liked Tony. Though, didn't like anyone really.

"Not long," Lucas told him as Jamison sat and took a sip of his whiskey.

"So, did you hear?" Jamison asked his brother, "about Sky-Sky?" He smirked. "I told you she'd be just fine."

Lucas's attention was caught by a movement at the bar, frowning as he saw that the guard had been changed early. "I never denied it," he said while watching the small crowd. "I knew she'd be okay, but that doesn't mean she gets to do whatever the fuck she wants."

"She sure seems to though," Tony said. Eric glared at him; the kid seemed far too happy when he'd said it. What the fuck was with everyone and the Smiths?

"Sky-Sky has always been like that," Jami explained. "How many times have I told you about her? How many stories? She's crazy, and I love it!"

Tony grinned and leaned back, putting his arm up on the top of the bench just behind Jami's casually. "I still can't believe I'm the only one that knew she was your sister and not your brother! I mean cmon." He turned his head toward Lucas. "How could you not mention that to anyone when you talked about her?"

They talked a bit more, mostly about work and a few of the other transfers. When Eric's beer glass was almost empty, Eric saw a movement across the bar that looked very much like the girl that seemed to be on everyone's lips. To his delight, it was her, and she was making a beeline toward their booth.

The same look covered her face that she'd had on her first day here when she'd marched toward Lucas and placed her hand on her hip, the other on him. It had been both hilarious and entertaining to watch, considering it was the first time anyone had done something like that and elicited a smile from his best friend.

Perseus was right behind her as she arrived at the table. Eric heard him curse under his breath at her.

"I thought I told you that you weren't allowed in here," Lucas said to her. Eric took not that his supervisor's voice was back. He needed another drink, they both did.

Skylar shot her oldest brother a smile that had Eric wishing it was for him. How was it that he couldn't stop thinking that smile was so cute? It wasn't even that great. Her teeth weren't perfectly straight, and her mouth was a bit too small.

"I'm only here for a quick second. I ran into Persi at the tattoo parlor, and he said you wanted to discuss a time for tomorrow."

The table watched Perseus groan and slide into the booth beside them. Eric watched at the brothers started to argue at a time, feeling a surge of anger course through him at the fact they hadn't even bothered to ask what a good time was for him. Although to be fair, he had told Lucas the other day that his schedule was clear tomorrow after ten in the morning.

"What? At least let me sit while you two decide on a fucking time!" Eric turned back to Skylar, who was now sliding into the booth with them. Eric felt the crease below him as she sat down, wishing once again that there wasn't someone sitting between them.

The bartender arrived at the table and sat a rum drink in front of Perseus, who took a large gulp and shot him a thankful look.

Skylar ordered a drink, and Eric almost smiled at the look on her brother's faces. Pursues and Jami both looked frightened and glanced at him, Lucas just looked pissed. It was almost fun to watch the four of them together. Although, Eric wanted to throw his empty glass at the bartender who had just earned a wink from the girl. Fuck this. His emotions were like a fucking roller coaster with these people around.

"No, you won't," Jami said from across the table and smiled at the bartender. "She'll have a chocolate milk."

Finally, Lucas chuckled and grinned. Eric didn't though, still stuck on the wink.

"To hell, I will, I'm not five!" No, she most definitely was not five. She was young, but not too young, Eric thought.

Fuck it.

"Bring us all another round, and two of what I'm drinking. My tab."

The bartender looked grateful as he rushed away. Eric made a mental note to ask Lucas what his name was later because he sure as hell didn't remember. He felt his best friend's eyes boring into him as he watched Jamison looking at his younger sister. His eyes were mischievous, and he had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Congratulations on winning your first fight. She's fine having one drink as long as she's with us. No one is going to question me, or you, and she doesn't have training tomorrow. Aren't you the one always telling me to let loose every once in a while?" Eric peeled his eyes away from Jamison and turned to look at Lucas with a raised brow.

He ignored Skylar's bright green eyes on him from beside his best friend. How was it that she was the only one of her siblings whose forest eyes shone like that?

"Who's your friend?" Skylar looked away finally and asked Jamison.

Tony looked pissed.

"He's introduced you to me three times already; I was sitting across from you this morning at breakfast. Tony." He finished his glass. Eric watched him with interest. "I'm Tony. I work with Jami in the control room."

Eric saw from the corner of his eye that Jamison's grin had grown if that were even possible.

"Gotcha. Timmy, that's a really nice name."

If Eric had a drink in his mouth, he'd probably have to spit it out at the glare that Tony shot her across the table. Damn.

After the bartender arrived and placed their drinks in front of them, he stopped and turned his focus to the newcomer.

"Oh, and yours isn't on his tab," he nodded toward Eric as he spoke. "A guy at the bar paid for it. Do you know who Ward Palmer is?"

Did that fucker just say, Ward Palmer? Was he fucking with them? Because if so, it wasn't funny. Eric glared at him, then watched as Skylar's face lit up and scanned the bar. Lucas snapped his arm at her as she tried to get up, holding her back.

Eric was surprised that he wasn't throwing things right now. He knew how much Lucas hated Ward. Hell, everyone knew how much Lucas hated Ward, how much they all did. A lot of people hated him, actually. He was a prick with an ego so large Eric was surprised that his head hadn't exploded when Perseus had beat the living shit out of him during their initiation. Lucas had been so proud of him.

"What? I do know him. He works the guard around the Candor sector. We're, um, friends."

The way she'd said friends insinuated that they weren't, just, friends.

Eric wanted to throw something now.

What the fuck did she see in that asshole?

And how? That was against the rules if they'd done anything before she'd transferred. He'd see to it he was punished. Severely.

"To hell you are," Persi folded his arms and hissed at her, he was seething.

Skylar sat back down, and for the first time since he'd met her, Eric saw shock and fear run across her face, even if it was only for an instant.

"Red card," all three of the Smith brothers said.

The shock on her face deepened, a blush rose to her face. Had Eric not been almost shaking with anger at the thought of that asshole with her, or her with anyone for that matter, he would have let his mind wander about what else could make her blush, for the millionth time.

"Red card huh? All three of you?" She no longer sounded scared, but pissed. Eric couldn't help but think that she was just like him, just like all of them.

"You wouldn't still be sitting here if you genuinely like the guy, you'd be over there. You're attracted to him, that's it. And you shouldn't be, he's an awful human being," Jamison said quietly. He had a good point.

"Okay," Tony said. "Can anyone explain to me what a red card means?"

Eric glared at him. Was this kid really that stupid that he couldn't guess what it meant? Apparently they were telling her she wasn't allowed to see the guy. Lucas chugged his entire drink.

"Shade came up with it," a look of pain covered her face for a moment before she sighed and continued. Eric wanted to know why, he was so curious who this Shade was to her, since he was likely related to them, and important.

"When I was nine, I had a crush on this boy he despised. So, he came up with a brilliant idea. Each one of us got three red cards to use on each other throughout our lives. If we didn't like the person someone was seeing, we could use it, and they had to end it, immediately. Others in the family can use their card to veto the decision, or use two of their own."

Silence.

"Who is Shade?" Tony asked her. "Do you have another brother?"

Skylar chugged her drink, just like her brother had only moments before, and slid from the booth. "Let me know which of you are using a card."

Eric wanted a card too. Three cards. No, more than three. He wanted a card for every asshole in Dauntless. And evidentially he needed some for the fucking females too.

"Are you going to veto it? If so, I have a feeling we all will use one so you can't."

Eric almost asked out loud if he got one too if it would help.

Skylar looked annoyed though, so he didn't. He watched her instead, and to his delight, her eyes bore into his, making him shiver. He hoped that Lucas didn't notice, but had a powerful feeling that he did since his head snapped in his direction as he scooted into Skylar's seat.

"No. Eric, do you mind letting me know when dinner is tomorrow, once they decide? And when I can come over to cook?" Yes, he most definitely would.

"I'll let you know in the morning, Sky," Jami said quietly, looking at his beer.

She ignored her brother and kept her gaze locked with Eric's. He took her eyes in, noting that there was a bit of blue on the edges. He'd noticed it earlier, but hadn't bothered overthinking it at the time. He nodded to her, hoping it wouldn't make her leave, but it did.

He watched her walk to the bar and right past Ward, who tried to pull her toward him. Lucas watched with clenched teeth next to him, and Jamison pushed past his brother, so he was watching from around the side of the booth with him.

All of them watched as she spoke to him, and fuck did he look pissed. Eric was about to smile about that little fact; then he watched her grab her arm. Both him and Lucas shot up at the same time, against his will.

Lucas didn't say anything though, and neither of the others turned around. Tony was trying to look past them but wasn't having much luck.

The four of them watched as she waved her hand in front of Ward and strode from the bar, swaying her hips as she left as if she knew that Eric would be watching. His gaze snapped back to Ward, who turned and shot a glare toward their table.

Before he knew it, Eric was sliding from the booth after Lucas, who was racing after Persi. Unfortunately, Persi had arrived before anyone could grab him and had shoved Ward hard against the wall next to the bar.

"Did you know?" Persi's voice ripped through the bar, a silence following. "Did you fucking know, you stupid prick, that she was my sister before you tried to fuck her? Because I swear to fucking God." He slammed him against the wall again, holding him by the front of his shirt, "that if you did, I will fucking destroy you."

Eric folded his arms and watched as Lucas pried Persi away from Ward. He had assumed that Lucas was breaking up the fight, but he was wrong, very wrong. Lucas pushed his brother away from him and into a table, then lunged at Ward.

He punched him hard in the face, then ducked when Ward tried to hit him back. Lucas slammed him against the wall as his brother had done before. Blood was pooling from Ward's nose as he stared at the man in front of him menacingly.

"If you ever go near my sister again," Lucas roared. "My brothers and I will beat you until you die on the ground in front of us. Do you understand me?"

Ward looked past him, directly at Eric, "are you going to stop this, leader?" he snapped at him.

Eric narrowed his eyes when Lucas loosened his grip.

"Anyone who fucks with a Smith, fucks with me. Everyone knows that." Eric shouted, choosing his words carefully.

A menacing grin grew on Lucas's face as he slammed Ward against the wall again, hard. He let him go and watched him slide down the wall a bit.

"Stay away from her," Persi yelled from behind him and made his way out of the bar, Lucas following behind. Both of them stopped when they realized that Jamison was still watching Ward slide down the wall, his eyes glowing in anger. He shook his head and followed his brothers out, Eric in tow.

..

..


	10. Chapter 10

..

..

..

Eric's Point of View

..

Eric smiled to himself as he leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen, watching Skylar add the ingredients he'd set aside for her to add to the red pasta sauce.

He had met her in front of the cafeteria at around noon. He had intended to tell her that since her brothers had decided on three for a late lunch, and a very early dinner, but realizing she'd just rolled out of bed he told her he'd meet her in the training room at two. That way he had time to have a drink and take a cold shower.

It was past three now, and her brothers were nowhere to be seen. Not that Eric was complaining; teaching her to cook was much more fun by himself. She was a good listener, despite the way he'd seen her talk to her brothers the past week. He wanted to teach her more, about, well, anything, though the bedroom was definitely preferred.

He grinned at the shocked look on her face when the lid to one of the season's popped up, dumping far too much of it into the pot. It was, well adorable; a word he'd never thought he'd use to describe someone he was so undeniably attracted to.

And he couldn't deny it anymore. She wasn't just attractive, and she wasn't just the little spitfire she'd seen so much of the past few days. Well, Skylar was a Smith alright, through and through, sassiness ran alongside the blood in her veins, but she was different than them, the perfect mix of the lot of them, though it seemed her temper ran thicker than even Lucas's.

Eric was a bottle of whiskey deep right now, and the buzz he had was so strong he was having a hard time containing his laughter as he made his way around the counter to help her. He was also having a hard time keeping his hands off her, which is why he'd moved across the island in the first place. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, he reached around and dished out a few heaping pile of the off-white power. He could tell by the smell it was just garlic, so he sent her a warm smile.

"It's only garlic powder," he explained softly. Skylar looked up at him with surprise. One thing he'd noticed about her was that her eyes shined brightly when she saw something she liked, at least he hoped that was what it was. Becuase every time she looked at him, they shone as brightly as the stars in the night sky. And right now, they were shining. Brightly.

"So, a little extra won't hurt it any." She smiled at him. A genuine, wholehearted smile. No girl had ever looked at him like that.

How much had he let her drink? Eric handed her the wooden spoon she'd been stirring with and watched her as she mixed in the rest of the ingredients, her moves sharp and calculated. It was refreshing to watch someone cook in the same way he did.

He scooted himself back a bit, realizing how close he was standing to her. Was that why her movements were so sharp?

When she'd first gotten here, he'd told himself this wouldn't be a regular thing. That after tonight, he wouldn't offer his place for the Smith's to have dinner again. But now? If it meant he got to do this, with her? He was considering offering to do more than just one dinner night a week. Eric didn't remember a time he'd smiled so much.

He watched her lay the spoon on the counter and turn around. He backed up to the other side of the counter, waiting for her to say something. But she just watched him calmly, trying to figure him out, just like her brother always did. Lucas never got anywhere though, but Skylar? Eric had a strong feeling in the pit of his stomach that Skylar would.

"Why did you offer your place up to do this?" She asked him.

Eric stared at her and took a large sip from the bottle. She shook her head when he offered it to her, which knew he shouldn't have done. He was pretty sure that she'd had a lot considering her size and the fact that she probably didn't drink often.

"You didn't even thank me for the beer yesterday," Eric told her. "Lucas wasn't pleased with me saying you could drink with us since it's against the rules as an initiate to be in the bar."

Skylar ignored his comment, just as he had her question. "Well?"

Eric took a deep breath. He wanted to answer. He wanted to tell her everything about him. And honestly? He didn't care if she was Lucas's sister. He'd never wanted anyone more than he did right now.

…

..

..

Skylar's Point of View

..

"Well?" Skylar pondered. Her mind was running as she watched him. He had been shooting her smiles all night, and she wasn't sure if she should be worried, or happy about it. She waited at least a minute before he finally answered her, his voice deep and rough.

"In case you haven't heard, I'm an asshole. Your brother's been a good friend to me despite that. He puts up with a lot of my shit." Eric explained, "I guess I thought it would be a good way to pay him back since it seemed important to you guys."

Skylar snorted. "Yeah, it's clearly so important to them."

If it were so important to her brothers, they would have found a way to do it at their place, and not left it to Eric. Although Eric's place was beautiful and clean, and her brothers could have agreed on time rather than arguing about it for days.

And they'd be helping her, rather than leaving Eric to help. Which was more surprising; he didn't seem the helpful type, especially since she wasn't allowed to tell any of the other initiates where they had it. Though, she had mentioned it to Meck under the promise he'd keep quiet.

Though, she knew that the leader probably saw this as babysitting anyway.

"You know for a Candor you're good at being sarcastic," Eric said.

Skylar stirred the red sauce and turned around, folding her arms.

"I'm not Candor; I'm Dauntless."

Eric smirked at her and put the lid on the bottle he was drinking from, then folded his arms to match her stance.

When the leader stayed silent, she felt herself get annoyed.

"Alright, fine, you care about my brother," Skylar said and looked around the kitchen. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that I've been in Dauntless for less than a week and I'm already having a hard time getting my family together. I get that this faction isn't about family or whatever and that I'm still an initiate, but C'mon."

Eric just stood and listened to her.

"And I get that their schedules are busy," she explained. "But we can work around them. It's obvious that this isn't as important to them as it is to me. It's total bull shit. And, I haven't even met this girlfriend of Lucas's or Jami's roommate, and he and I are really close. Or at least we used to be."

She realized she was rambling, so she turned back to diagnosing the real reason Eric had offered his place.

"There must be another reason we're standing in your kitchen and not one of my brothers." She turned her gaze back to Eric, who was now leaning against the island that sat in the middle of the small, dull kitchen.

"It was your idea," Eric told her.

Skylar rolled her eyes, "yeah but I was only kidding. I mean, I had just met you. I was only going off of what Jami had said only minutes before that."

"Fine," Eric shrugged. "Tell anyone this, and you'll get the chance to see that "other side" of me you've clearly been warned about."

Skylar raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Today is my birthday," Eric said quietly, then reached past her opened the bottle and gulped down a few large sips before leaning back against the counter opposite of her.

His birthday!

Skylar loved birthdays!

Skylar grinned, "It is? Why aren't we celebrating! Wait, does Lucas know?"

Eric shook his head, "only Max knows."

"What!" Skylar said and motioned to him, "why?"

"I don't celebrate my birthday. I never have, and I never will," Eric explained.

"Why is that a reason if you don't you celebrate it?" she questioned him. "Also, why don't you celebrate your birthday?"

"I grew up in Erudite," Eric explained.

Erudite? She hadn't known that. What did that have to do with anything? Her confusion must have shown on her face because he spoke again.

"Erudite don't celebrate birthdays," he said.

"But you're not Erudite; you're Dauntless. And Dauntless celebrate birthdays."

Eric nodded and took a small sip, then offered her the bottle. "Maybe that's why I decided to do something this year."

She took a few drinks; she shouldn't have though, because she already had a buzz going.

"Yet you didn't tell anyone, so it isn't really doing anything." she pondered.

Eric shook his head in agreement but didn't seem motivated to do anything about it.

"Well," she said and took another sip, then handed the close-to-empty bottle back. "What about gifts? That's the best part of having a birthday!"

"I'm a Dauntless leader," he spoke it as if she was stupid. "There's nothing I need."

Skylar's grin grew, "Oh my God! Gifts are not about needs; they're about wants!"

She could tell that Eric was trying hard not to smile at her, but it wasn't going to work.

Skylar stood straight but was still backed up against the counter. "Fine, if I'm not allowed to tell anyone then I at least have to get you something. What do you want?"

Eric smirked at her. "You think you have something I'd want, initiate?"

Skylar shrugged.

The leader standing in front of her was clearly amused now.

"C'mon," she urged.

He continued to stare at her mischievously.

"There's got to be something you want!" She exclaimed.

Eric's gaze darkened as his eyes lined up and down her body.

Oh no.

"Maybe there is something I want," he said in a husky voice.

Oh shit.

He took a step toward her.

Oh fuck.

"Since you're feeling so giving," he took a step closer.

Mother fucker.

"How about a blow job?" Eric suggested.

Skylar stared at him, eyes wide.

Eric waited, the mischievous look still lined his features.

Then she laughed lightly.

He was joking, right?

Eric sent her a charming smile and raised an eyebrow. His black eyebrow piercing reflected the dimmed kitchen lights.

There was no way that the "ruthless Dauntless leader" Eric fucking Coulter was suggesting this. From an initiate? No way.

Her older brothers best friend?

He had to have been kidding.

"Okay," she said, calling his bluff.

His lip twitched.

"Right now?" Skylar said, "or did you have a particular time picked out later on?"

Eric lowered his eyebrow and watched her as if he was trying to read her expression.

Skylar smiled mischievously.

Just because she grew up in Candor didn't mean she didn't know how to bluff too.

"Now," he said sternly.

Skylar felt her face redden.

How far was this going to go before one of them stopped bluffing?

Fuck it.

He'd stop her.

"Come here," she motioned him forward and leaned back against the counter more, pushing her chest out. Because why not.

Eric glanced at her chest, then stared at her lips a moment.

He closed the short distance between them and reached around her to place the bottle on the counter.

His arm brushed hers and Skylar were shocked by the rush of feelings it gave her.

He smelt good. Prickly goose bumps covered Skylar's arms.

Really good. Like pine needles.

Eric just stood and stared at her.

She stared right back.

His eyes. His god-dammed eyes were intoxicating.

"Well?" he questioned.

Skylar stared a moment longer and sent him another smirk. She hadn't realized she'd started frowning. He had no idea how stubborn she could be.

She wouldn't be the one to back down. No way.

She reached forward and grabbed his belt, then unfastened the belt-buckle.

Once that was done, she grabbed the front of his jeans and pulled him closer, then unbuttoned the top button on his black jeans.

Eric's smirk had disappeared and was replaced with a frown. Though, his eyes had darkened. The entire time she'd been doing this, she hadn't removed her eyes from his. She couldn't as if she were stuck in a trance.

Skylar slowly undid the skipper, then grabbed the belt-loops on the side of his pants.

His hands shot out and landed on hers, holding them in place.

Aha!

She knew he'd break first. This man clearly had no idea who he was messing with.

"How far were you planning to take this," Eric asked her quietly.

His voice was still gruff and husky, sending shivers down her back.

"As far as you wanted," Skylar said flirtatiously. "It's your birthday, remember?"

"Do you do this for everyone on their birthdays?" Eric clenched his jaw.

Skylar shook her head and tried to pull her hands back, but he held them in place. "What kind of girl do you think I am?" she hadn't intended for the words to come out so sharply, but they were nearly a growl.

Eric removed his eyes from hers and looked down her body again, then to the hands he was holding on her hips. Then he pushed her hands away and fixed his pants and belt.

Skylar folded her arms and shot him a knowing look. She knew he'd only said it as a joke. But all joking aside, Skylar knew she would have gone for it had he not stopped her, but he didn't need to know that.

Eric looked back to her face.

"I changed my mind," he said quietly.

Yeah, no shit. She knew he'd been bluffing.

There was no way he'd go through with something like that.

"A kiss." He said quietly.

What? What had he just said? Was she hearing things? She was definitely, hearing things.

"I want a kiss instead."

What did he just say?

Skylar had no time to comprehend the question running around in her head because he pushed himself against her and grabbed her head with his hand.

The moment their lips touch, her entire body was on fire. Eric didn't start slow, not even a little slow. Instead, he kissed her hard, shoving her against the counter roughly. She ignored the shot of pain in her back.

He placed one of his hands on her side, pulling her shirt up as he did, the other was still pulling her head toward him, locked in a rough kiss. As he pushed her shirt up more and stopped just before her breast, right where her tattoo was, she couldn't help but moan.

Eric growled in response, forcing her to open her mouth as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. She shoved both of her hands up his shirt, which she hadn't realized were on his waist. He let go of her head and put his arm just below her ass, pulling her up, so she was sitting on the counter. She opened her legs as he shoved against her and used her arm to push herself closer, accidentally knocking the bottle over. It rolled and fell off the counter on the other side, thankfully landing on the carpet, so it didn't break.

Eric ignored the bottle and kissed her neck roughly, sucking as he moved down her chest, then lifted her shirt and pushed her backward. She fell back on her hands as he moved his mouth down her abdomen, kissing her tattoo softly.

She moaned again, and he chuckled against her skin, the stubble on his cheeks rubbing against her as he kissed down her ribs and just above her waistline.

"Any more tattoos?" he asked her quietly, his voice husky and seductive.

Skylar pushed herself up, about to tell her about the one on her back. Her head was fuzzy as she sat up and he pulled her into another kiss, this time taking his time as he pushed her mouth open with his tongue and tasted her slowly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him harder, but he forced her to slow down, a grin on her lips.

"Mmm," he hummed. "No need to rush," he said and pecked Skylar's lips. "My birthday gift, remember?" He kissed her neck again, she tilted her head to the side and kept her eyes closed.

"You said just a kiss," she reminded him quietly.

"That was just a kiss," he pulled back and looked into her eyes deeply.

That was just a kiss? Hell, if that was just a kiss, anything else had to have been killer. He must have read her mind because he glanced over her shoulder, toward his bedroom door.

Skylar looked at his lips, then froze when she heard voices. Eric's gaze snapped toward the front door.

Her brothers. Both of them stayed frozen in place, Eric's arms still holding her shirt up, hers still wrapped around his neck. The second the door clicked he pulled her off the counter quickly, letting her shirt fall back down, and dragged her around the counter. He grabbed the bottle off the floor and shoved her softly onto one of the sofas.

The Dauntless leader crossed the room and entered the bathroom quickly, leaving her staring at his ass as he disappeared into it.

The door ripped open and in through it came all of her brothers, one after one, as well as Zachary and another person she didn't recognize.

Once they were through the door, Lucas walked across the room and stopped when he saw her. "Are you okay?" he scrunched his eyebrows.

Oh, shit. Did she not look good?

"Um, yeah?" She said and leaned back, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Have you been drinking again?" Lucas asked her as he took a seat next to her on the dark sofa. "Where the fuck is Eric?"

"Um, yeah," she said quietly. "He just went in there," she pointed to the bathroom. "He um, took the bottle away from me when he realized I was sneaking sips of it."

"Hmmph," Lucas said as he propped his legs on the coffee table. "Good."

Yep, very good. Very good, very kind of Eric. The bottle was probably empty by now, and he was probably in there trying to calm himself down. She could still feel his lower region pressing against hers from when he'd had her pinned on the counter only moments before. Her face reddened thinking of it.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked her, worry in his voice. "Are you hot?"

Jami shot her a curious look as he sat on the small sofa-chair across from them, the man he'd brought with him pushing himself in next to him.

"Um, yeah," she forced her voice to convey annoyance. "I've been learning how to cook that pasta dish in this hot kitchen, in this stupid long-sleeved shirt because someone doesn't like my tank tops, with a hot-headed asshole who thinks I can't do anything right. All of this, by myself, might I add." She glared at her oldest brother. Although Eric had been here, and even before the kiss she'd been enjoying herself.

"What? We aren't that late!" Perseus said from the kitchen, holding a spoon for Zachary to taste her dish. The image was odd, which Persi must have realized when he playfully pushed his friend away from him. "Plus, this is delicious. I don't know what Eric is talking about."

The bathroom door flung open to the angry leader shooting a glare in Perseus's direction. He stomped over to the kitchen and threw the empty bottle in the trash bin, then opened the cupboard above the fridge and grabbed another.

Skylar forced herself to look away as the leader's shirt rose, showing off the black tattoo that went up to his back. Unfortunately, she turned to see that Jamison was watching her curiously. She grinned at him playfully, but he didn't smile back, only watched her knowingly.

But there was no way that he could know. I mean he knew her better than anyone, but no one would ever guess that she, an initiate, and Lucas Smith's baby sister, would have made out with Eric the Dauntless Leader Coulter. Nope. No way.

Fuck.

Could they really tell?

..

..

..


	11. Chapter 11

Skylar's POV

..

Skylar had spent the better part of Sunday night being lectured by Lucas and Perseus about drinking the night before training again. Neither of them had bothered to lecture Eric for giving it to her though, and she knew for a fact neither of them believed her when she'd told them she'd been sneaking sips from the bottle.

And Jami? He'd sent her funny looks throughout the evening as if he knew.

But he didn't. And Skylar had only gotten out of that one by telling him that she had almost gone back to Ward the night before and felt guilty.

He'd believed her and had given her a red card lecture.

Skylar was getting pretty sick of fucking lectures.

Thankfully, Lucas had told her he had meetings all week and wouldn't be seeing her. Perseus was out working, and Jami had promised he'd see her for breakfast and that was it.

It was Wednesday, and he'd had yet to keep that promise.

Skylar hadn't seen Eric either. Though, that was probably a good thing, because she had thought about how good his lips had been against her far too many times.

She'd even had a dream about him on Monday night. A very, very, bad dream, in the middle of the dorms. A wet dream. The dorms that she shared with a bunch of other people.

Alec had been the only one who'd woken up, thankfully. But he also hadn't looked at her the same way since. She wasn't stupid; she knew he was interested in knowing what that dream was about. But she wasn't interested in telling him.

Maybe she should be though because she knew better than anyone that Eric was out of the picture. That absolutely could NOT happen. He was her leader and Lucas's best friend. That couldn't happen. It just couldn't.

"Where's your head at?" Meck nudged her as she stretched. "I figured you of all people would be excited for this, considering Monday morning you were ranting about how sick you were if being stuck inside."

"I never say that," Skylar turned her head toward him.

"No, what you actually said was something along the lines of 'fuck this Dauntless compound and its dark ass underground lack-of-sun bullshit," Meck grinned.

"You did say something like that," Conrad agreed. "Though I'm pretty sure there were a lot more 'fucks."

Alec and Meck both laughed, earning glares from the other initiates, particularly Parker. Conrad rolled over on the mat just in time for Meck to speak again.

"Yeah but there is always a lot more fucks when Skylar is involved," Meck said.

She pushed him hard enough that he fell on his side, nearly on top of Conrad who shoved him off, and told him to shove it.

To be honest, she was excited about their run. Supposedly the entire group of initiates was going to run to the gates near the Amity sector. She knew that getting some sun would be nice, and to go running in a setting that wasn't a circle like they did in the training rooms. Or suicides. Or on a treadmill.

When the trainers called for them to follow, they huddled up and made their way through the hallways and up a set of stairs, then outside. Once they were outside her and Meck steered away from the group a bit as Four, and the other trainers spoke before they started their run.

"Are you alright?" Meck asked her. "You've been acting weird since your family dinner. Are you guys doing it again on Sunday? I know it was important to you."

Skylar blocked the sun with her hand, looking at him through scrunched eyes. Thankfully they were going to be running away from the sun, and hopefully, by the time they ran back, it would be behind them again.

"I'm fine," she told him and shrugged. "And I don't know, maybe? Depends on if any of them want to I guess. They were reluctant last time."

"Well, you did say they were really busy, right?" he asked as they walked forward and began to jog. "I'm sure it's just scheduling issues." He assured her.

Skylar didn't understand why he bothered lying, or why she bothered lying to him. They both grew up in Candor together. He must have read her expression because he chuckled to himself.

"Alright, maybe they're just assholes," he grinned.

"Definitely. You know I haven't even met Lucas's girlfriend? And they live together!" she spoke as they jogged, wondering if they were going to pick up the pace soon so they could stop talking. "Or Jami's roommates."

"Well, I'm sure you will soon. We've only been here for a week and a half." Meck explained.

Skylar nodded and picked up the pace with the group, grateful that he wouldn't expect her to answer.

"Sky?" He said once more after they'd been running for a few minutes silently. She glanced at him and nodded as they ran. She noticed that their friends were running near the trainers at the front.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "For helping me. You're pretty great."

Skylar grinned, knowing that he was in need of far more help than she'd given him so far.

"You're going to regret saying that when I make you keep up with me at the front of the line for this entire run." She ran ahead and turned, motioning for him to follow and clapping. "C'mon slowpoke, let's go!"

..

..


	12. Chapter 12

Eric's POV

..

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Fucking stupid.

So unbelievably fucking stupid.

Eric couldn't believe that he'd lost control like that, drink aside, he knew better. He was a fucking leader; he couldn't slip up like that.

Fucking fuck.

Lucas deserved better than having him as a friend; because he was a terrible friend.

He'd managed to avoid him for Monday and Tuesday, but that morning Lucas had arrived in his office and thrown himself in his chair like he was going to fucking therapy.

His best friend told him some bullshit about how he understood if them having dinner at Eric's house was weird, and it wouldn't happen again. Lucas actually thanked him and told him he was a good man for helping out Skylar with cooking.

Eric had taken a sip of his coffee to cover up the look that he knew had crossed his face, because God forbid Lucas to find out that he'd only used it to rake his hands all over his sister's body and end up dry humping her against the fucking counter.

Then Lucas has said something along the lines of "I know babysitting probably wasn't what you had in mind for that Sunday, but even you have to admit that cake she made was fucking good. Better than the cafeteria even."

And of course, Eric had coughed up his coffee and spent nearly half a minute trying to calm his beating heart. Because the first thought that had come to his mind; what a delightful fucking word choice for him to use, "better than the cafeteria's cake," as if he knew about Eric's and his sister's stupid fucking bet they'd made with in the hallway last week. Though they'd never decided on anything, right?

Then his second thought was something along the lines of the kind of desert he'd really fucking wanted and how it hadn't been cake and him and his brother's arrival had ruined that.

His third thought was the memory of her grabbing his belt as if she was actually going to go through his suggestion. Followed by the memory of the noise she'd made when he'd kissed her lips, then the one when he'd kissed her ribs, and for fuck's sake he thought was going to lose his shit.

Then Lucas laughed at him, and for some God forsaken reason, Eric had told him it was fine because it was nice to celebrate his birthday.

It'd come out like word vomit.

That's what that little bitch did to him. Made him say crazy-stupid shit and be impulsive, and it wasn't okay. It was far from okay, actually.

And Lucas had stared at him. Just fucking stared; as if Eric were insane. And honestly, Eric was starting to think that he was insane. Then he'd laughed again and told him he was a fucking jackass for not telling him and that they needed to really celebrate.

Which is why Eric was now headed toward the bar with them, despite his pleas that Lucas keep quiet. But Lucas had promised it would only be a few people.

A few people meant his brothers and their friends, Max, and the other leaders.

Fine. He could deal with a few people. So long as he was drunk. And he planned to get drunk.

But only if the Smith brothers didn't involve their sister in the plans,

because Eric knew that the word vomit would only get worse if they did.

..

..

Four hours and more drinks that he could count later, Eric was walking side by side with a very cheerful Lucas. Jami had disappeared with some girl and showed up about a half an hour later, and now he was flirting with some girl that had met up with them when they'd left the bar.

And now they were in the pit, and Eric was glad he was nearly drunk because there was no way he'd be able to deal with the morons in this faction today if not. Especially the initiates, which seemed to be everywhere.

"Ayee," Jami moved past them and motioned for some of the initiates to come over to their group as they took place next to a wall and circled.

"You there," Jami said again, motioning them forward. "Yep, talking to you kid."

Eric watched as the initiate gave his friends a look and walked toward him. He knew right off the bat that the kid had to be a transfer because he wasn't strong enough to have been a Dauntless-born. Or at least he hoped.

"You're that kid, my baby, Sky-Sky is helping, right?" Jami said it, though it was more of a statement rather than a question. "From Candor too? Where's she at?"

The kid stopped and folded his arms uncomfortably as he glanced between Jami and Lucas. Perseus was near Zachary just outside their group but was still watching.

"Hello?" Jami asked him.

The kid shrugged. "I don't know; she was with Alec and Conrad. Said she'd be here in a bit."

"Alec is Jacobsen's kid, right?" Jake chimed in. Jami nodded to him.

"What's your name again?" Jami's words were slightly slurred.

"Meckham," he answered. "You already knew that though."

Oohs and ahhs came out from around them. That kid was brave for mouthing off like that.

Jami laughed at him and nodded in agreement and waved them off. "He's from Candor, let him be."

"How's she doing, then?" Lucas chimed in from next to Eric.

"Um, great," Meckham said. Eric could tell he looked nervous, but also a tad annoyed.

"Great?" Lucas said, raising an eyebrow, his voice lowered. "Seriously though kid, from an initiate's point of view, she's settling in well, dealing with being in a new faction and all?"

Meckham stared at him with a confused look on his face.

Lucas stepped forward and snapped his finders in front of his face, "are you going to answer me, kid? What's your problem? Be honest kid."

Meckham looked at him, and his eyes flashed, "I don't think you really want me to be honest with you," he deadpanned.

No one oohed and aahed that time, just stared at him.

After a moment of silence, Jami started laughing. "Should we expect any less of her friends? Especially ones from Candor?" Jami turned to Lucas then back to Meckham. "Seriously though kid, what's your deal? We aren't going to kick your ass if that's what you think. Not after she's been helping you or whatever; she's likely got a reason."

Eric didn't know what that reason could be. Because this kid wasn't good looking, nor did he look promising as a real Dauntless. He seemed like a lost fucking cause. Skylar could do better.

Meckham stared at Lucas for a moment, as if he were contemplating his words, then turned back to Jami.

Eric knew this wouldn't turn out well. It never fucking did with the Smiths, and he was starting to understand that the younger they were, the worse they got. He'd thought Jami was trouble, but Skylar was worse, so much fucking worse. Though he was too, considering he'd pinned her against his kitchen counter just days ago. Made her moan against his mouth.

Eric shook the thoughts from his head. The last thing he needed to be doing right now was thinking about her like that. But she was fucking everywhere. Fuck.

"Whatever you're thinking, spit it out, kid. Lucas told him, conveying the annoyance in his voice. Eric could only think that Meckham was more than lucky they had all been drinking.

"What I think, is that you guys are assholes," Meckham shrugged.

Eric couldn't contain his snort at the look on everyone's faces, covering it up with a cough when Lucas glared at him and turned his attention back to the kid. Even he had to admit the kid's bravery was slightly entertaining. No wonder Skylar had been helping him.

Meckham's face was white, but he continued. "Well, I mean, you'd think that if you really did care about her, you wouldn't act the way that you do."

Lucas stared at him and folded his arms, and Jami narrowed his eyes. Eric watched Perseus step forward and push past Jake, having no idea where this was headed.

Meckham looked at Lucas and shook his head. "Whatever, kick my ass if you want." He clenched his jaw and looked toward the ground, then back to Lucas's face. "I guess it just pisses me off that she talks about you guys like your fucking Gods, yet you make it seem so inconvenient that she wants to make plans to spend one night a week with you. One night! I mean maybe after the shit she dealt with from her mom I shouldn't be surprised, maybe being a dick is just a family thing, and she got lucky. Well, no she didn't, she's a dick too, but she's a different kind of," Meckham shook his head and snapped his mouth shut.

Eric didn't know what shit he meant about their mother, and by the look on Perseus and Jami's face, he doubted they did. Lucas continued to glare at the kid though, and Eric knew he was probably going to have to stop him from beating the crap out of him.

He'd let him get a hit or two on the kid, of course, but that was it.

Though, they had told him to be honest.

And hadn't Skylar told Eric herself just the other night that she thought they didn't take her seriously? That she hadn't even met Lucas's girlfriend -not that she was missing much- and that he hadn't met Jami's roommates? And she'd said herself that she'd had a hard time getting them together. And to be fair, they'd also been nearly an hour late for that dinner she said was important to her, after it'd only really happened because he'd suggested they used his place.

Nope. He was not about to take sides.

"What shit with my mom?" Jami asked him, stepped toward Meckham,

"What?" Meckham looked at him curiously, his features softening. "Wait she didn't tell you that your mom moved in with Jack, like, a few months ago?"

"What?" Perseus asked, looking at Lucas to see if he knew. Lucas shook his head and clenched his jaw. "So, they were living with Jack before she transferred?" Perseus looked back at Meckham, who stepped back and folded his arms, looking like he wanted to vomit.

"No, your mom was," Meckham explained. "Skylar was living on her own I guess. I mean it was only for like two months, but yeah" he added.

Eric raised an eyebrow. How the fuck did anyone let that slide?

Jack? Jack Kang? As in the Candor leader? That was probably why. What the fuck kind of shit.

Everyone was watching them, just as they always were when the Smiths were involved. Eric realized that this was probably just a family conversation, especially if the leader of another faction was involved, and turned to the others, telling them to beat it. They all looked hesitant until Eric stepped forward again with a glare.

Were they fucking mental? No one disobeyed him.

When the others left, the brothers continued speaking, Zackary the only other one there.

"Please tell me this kid is fucking with us?" Perseus turned to Jami. "And that you're in on it."

Eric almost snorted. Clearly; he wasn't in on it.

"No, I didn't know that," Jami said and turned to Lucas.

Eric glared at his best friend's younger brother. Why the fuck would Lucas know that and not tell them? Better yet, why hadn't Skylar told them about that?

Then a thought occurred to him; maybe she hadn't told her brothers because she didn't want them to spend time with her because of their mother, but because they were family. The thought made him want to punch something.

Eric's family had been shit. More than shit. He'd have given anything to have siblings he was close to like she was to them. At one point, when he was much younger, he'd even looked up to his older brother. But his older brother was a fucking douchebag, and always would be. The Smith's weren't.

"I guess that means you don't know that she didn't even show up to the choosing ceremony," Meckham added quietly. "And now I feel like the asshole."

"What?" Jami turned back to him and all but growled the words. "She didn't fucking go to her choosing ceremony?"

Eric watched as Meckham nodded slowly.

"Fucking fuck," Jami said and turned back to them. "Why the hell did she not tell us this?"

"You tell us, you're the favorite," Perseus told him bitterly.

Eric wanted to smash their heads together.

"If you aren't planning to kick my ass, do you mind if I at least go tell her that I told you all this so that she doesn't kick my ass?" Meckham said jokingly, though his voice was quiet and he had backed away from them more.

Eric watched as the two brothers turned to Lucas, who, for the first time the entire conversation, turned to Eric, who nodded back to him.

"Don't tell her," Lucas said. "She'll tell us when she's ready."

"Oh my God," Persues said and threw his hands up.

"Um, honestly? If we're still doing that?" Meckham asked. "Keeping a secret from Skylar is like pretending that rain isn't wet."

"Blood is wet, want me to show you?" Jami snarled at him.

Lucas waved his hand in the air and turned to Eric, growling in frustration.

"Get lost kid, and keep your fucking mouth shut until they tell you otherwise," Eric said demandingly. Everyone looked at him, and Meckham took advantage of his words and disappeared.

Once he was gone, Eric was surprised when Zachary was the one to speak first. "Well, you did say things would never be boring with Skylar at Dauntless, right?"

Eric couldn't agree more.

..

..


	13. Chapter 13

Skylar's POV

..

Skylar looked up at the large hole in the ceiling and wondered why there weren't more people here. It was the perfect place to lay low, and the net was wonderful to lay in. The sun had set, and though there were clouds, it was still a pretty nice view.

And right now, she needed a good view, because for some reason she felt like crap. Not sick, but just, not great. Probably because it was that time of the month; which sucked ass. That was why she had convinced one of the cooks to give her a scone that they'd made for breakfast, and had been laying on the net for nearly twenty minutes after she'd ditched Alec.

And that had been nearly impossible because Alec had kept asking her what was wrong. But nothing was wrong, she just wanted to be away from people, and he wanted to be surrounded by them. He always did, and after their run, she'd agreed to give him a chance. He'd pretty much begged her and told her that he liked her a lot, so it was worth a shot.

"Hey, there you are," Meck said and rolled into the net next to her. She laughed when he almost toppled on top of her.

"Didn't know you were looking," she told him as he placed himself next to her. "And if you want to cop a feel all you gotta do is ask," she joked.

"Oh, whatever. And your brothers were asking about you" he said with a grin.

"Hmm," she tried to make it sound upbeat, but she didn't want to deal with them right now. "Yep, I told them I didn't know where you were," Meck said. "Which was the truth, I didn't. But I ran into Alec a few minutes ago, and he did, so, yeah. Here I am."

Sky leaned her head to the side and pulled back so she could look at him. Why was he nervous?

He caught her eye and scrunched his lips, then looked back to the hole in the ceiling.

"What did they do to you?" Skylar teased and nudged him. Or maybe it was Alec?

"Nothing," he said shaking his head. "Just asked me how you were."

She almost snorted. If they wanted to know, they should just ask themselves. Though, if they were looking for her, then that was something. Guess Lucas wasn't as busy as he'd implied.

"And you told them, what?" she waited for him to finish her sentence.

"That you were fine," Meck told her, his eyes still facing up.

She moved so that she was laying on her side, her head propped up by her hand, trying to hold herself up, so she didn't fall on him. She stared at him and waited. Why was he lying?

"I didn't know you didn't tell him about your mom moving in with Jack," he shrugged again, still looking at the ceiling. "And that she didn't show up to the choosing ceremony."

Oh, wonderful.

"You didn't want them to know?" he asked and looked at her. "I figured they did already."

Skylar didn't bother answered him as she rolled to her back again.

"I'm sorry," he told her. She could tell it was genuine.

"I know," she replied with a sigh.

"Why didn't you want them to know?"

She stared at the ceiling, her heart lurching. There were a lot of reasons she hadn't told them.

"Skylar," he pushed.

"Because it would just make them mad, I guess," she told him. "Or pity me."

Meck turned his head toward her again. "You can lie to me about as well as I can lie to you. I know there's more to it than that."

There was more.

"You don't have to tell me," he told her.

She knew she didn't. But Meck was her friend, maybe he'd understand. Or maybe he wouldn't.

"I think she blames me," Skylar explained, her voice quiet. "I think that's why she gave up."

She saw from the corner of her eyes that Meck scrunched his face curiously.

"Blames you?" Meck rolled to his side again. "For what Skylar? Not for-no way, that wasn't your fault. No one blames you."

But it was. It was all Skylar's fault. And she was afraid if her brothers knew that her mom had finally come to that conclusion, maybe they'd finally agree.

"But I'm the one that left the candles burning," she choked.

Meck put his arm around her and pulled her toward him. She didn't bother pushing him away.

"It was an accident," he told her quietly, his face in her hair. "She didn't move in with Jack because she blames you for the fire Sky. I'm not justifying her behavior, but she was probably just ready to move on, knowing you were going to leave her." He pulled her tightly.

Skylar nuzzled into him, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way. It was amazing how good a hug could make you feel. Just someone holding her made things a little better.

"Your brothers wouldn't think that anyways," he said quietly. "They love you too much."

"I know," she muttered, her voice muted. And she did know that, but she didn't understand why she was feeling like this. It had been a long time since she'd cried about the death of Shade and her father, she wasn't about to start now. And especially not because of her mother.

After a few minutes of silence, Meck squirmed and pulled back slightly. She almost protested because he was really warm, but he spoke before she could.

"I called them assholes too," he grinned at her, eyes wide. "In front of all their friends, even Eric."

Skylar stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I know, I know," Meck said and pulled her back in for another hug. "But it's their fault; they told me to be honest, so I was."

"I'm going to have to be with you 24/7 now because you're no longer safe," she teased.

Meck chuckled. After another moment of silence, he whispered to her again.

"I know we're just friends, but this is nice." She felt a hand on her hair, and he brushed it away and nuzzled closer to her. "comforting, even."

She hummed, then opened her eyes. Meck had just said that he knew they were just friends, but should she tell him about Alec? Thats what friends did, right? And they were closer than friends, if anything she was starting to think they were becoming best friends.

"Alec asked me to consider seeing him," she said honestly. "He kissed me too, it was nice."

Meck didn't say anything at first, but his body had tensed.

Skylar almost cursed; he'd been lying when he'd said he understood they were friends. Wait, no he hadn't. She would have been able to tell, right?

"When did he ask you this?" he asked and pulled back a bit so that he was still holding her, but his face was laying on the net observing her.

"After our run earlier," she shrugged, and Meck sighed.

"You shouldn't," he told her firmly.

Skylar stared at him and waited for an explanation.

"Because I'm pretty sure that the moans and grunts that were coming from the shower that he and Callie were in, like, not even a couple of hours ago," he explained lightly, a frown on his face, "was not a training exercise."

Skylar snorted. That had lasted long.

Alec was a douche.

"Oh, I don't know, it could have been," she joked. "They were probably working on their stamina and balance."

"Do you plan on training me that way too?" he smiled, "because I'm down if that's what you think I need."

Skylar shoved him lightly, and he laughed.

Now that she thought about it, Meck wasn't all that bad looking. His hazel eyes were pretty, and his skin was soft. And although they hadn't even been in Dauntless for two weeks, she knew his body was starting to look much better already.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Meck asked her and narrowed his eyes; she noticed that he was blushing.

"Like what?"

"You're- you're fidgeting too," his grin grew and he and tightened his grip on her. "I was just trying to be a good friend, not try to get in your pants. But I've realized that there isn't a moment you aren't thinking about sex."

She smiled and pushed him away, but he didn't let up.

"I am not looking at you like that!" she exclaimed.

"You totally were! Honestly, if you want my virginity it's yours," he teased. "I don't want it anymore; seriously I don't mind."

Skylar smirked at him. "First off, has anyone you're spending too much time with me? Because you're turning into a perv too! And second, I don't want to lose mine just yet; I think I'll pass," she joked back.

Meck laughed at first, but when he saw the look on her face, he stopped.

"Wait, no way you're messing with me? Aren't you? Holy shit, but? Wait?"

Meck pulled back from her and situated himself, so he was propped up and looking at him curiously, so she rolled onto her back again. She missed his warmth, but they'd been hugging long enough.

"I don't understand. You're always joking about that kind of stuff," Meck pondered.

"Well I've fooled around with quite a bit, and done literally everything, but " she explained. "But the opportunity never presented itself to go all the way."

That was a partial lie, as it definitely had with Ward. And she was pretty sure if her brother's hadn't walked in on Sunday she would have done literally anything that Eric had wanted.

Nope, not Eric. She couldn't think about him. He was just like most of the guys she'd met here so far, and probably had a few chicks on the side.

Like Ward and that girlfriend that she hadn't known about.

And evidentially Callie, which Alec and sworn up and down he wasn't interested in.

"Well color me surprised. I thought you were a total slut. I'm not sure we can be friends anymore."

She pushed him again. "Ugh, enough of this. I'm tired."

To her surprise, when she tried to roll over him to get off the net, he pulled her down right when she was on top of him, acting like he was going to kiss her. She gasped, but instead, he grinned and rolled her over again, then pushed himself off the net first.

She cursed at him, and he waited for her to get down. When he tried to offer his help, she pushed him off and did it herself, slamming her feet down flat on the concrete when she did. It'd hurt, but not too bad.

As they walked toward the dorms, Skylar realized she felt a bit better now. She was lucky to have Meck as a friend; she knew that.

However, somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt a tinge of doubt about her brothers.

Sure, it had been years since the fire, but it felt like it was just yesterday. And her mother had always been sad on Shade and her's birthday. Sad on her anniversary. Sad on dad's birthday. When her brothers were around, it had been easier to deal with. Then as the years went on, Lucas left, then Persi left, then Jami left until it was just her. And it shouldn't have been just her; it should have been her and Shade.

Shade. Good God did she miss Shade more than anything in the entire world. She'd been his best friend, and they'd been inseparable growing up. There was nothing more she wanted in life than to see him again. Shade was the bravest person she'd ever met, and he should be here with her.

Meck put an arm around her shoulder and leaned in as they walked, "You've got that look on your face again Sky."

Skylar shook her head and looked up, then glanced back to him and forced a smile on her face. But Meck knew better.

"You should wear a tank top tomorrow," he said seriously. "That way your brother will have no choice but to pay attention to you. Or, you and I could train in the showers when we get back?"

Skylar pushed him off of her again

"What I'm just trying to make you feel better," he said, his voice defensive as they arrived at the dorms.

"Does she not feel good?" Skylar looked up to see that Alec was standing up from his bunk just as they entered the room. "You seemed fine when I left you earlier."

Concern showed on his face, but she wanted no part of it.

"Did Callie seem fine earlier?" she asked him.

Alec looked shocked for a moment, then his face straightened.

"What do you mean? He deadpanned. Skylar watched him; he stood straighter, his breath was slightly heavier. He was getting ready to lie.

"Oh, so you didn't shower together earlier?" she asked him and folded her arms.

Alec shook his head. "Okay, fine. But it was before I talked to you, and she walked in on me and it just sort of happened."

"You talked to her after your run," Meck said as he walked over to his bunk, grabbing a sweatshirt from the bag under his bed. "And you were showering with Callie like a few hours ago."

"Stay out of this," Alec snapped at him. He turned back to Skylar. "C'mon, like you, haven't been with anyone since transferring here? It meant nothing, I swear. Let's just, start over?"

Meck snorted from across the room, and Alec glared at him again.

"We're better off as just friends, and leave him out of this." Skylar motioned to Meck and walked to her bunk.

Alec cursed under his breath. She ignored him, and Meck made his way to the bathroom with a toothbrush in his hand.

"Leave him out of this? You know what I think?" Alec said as he watched her grab shorts and a t-shirt from her bag. "I think that you're only worried about me screwing around on you if we dated because you'd be fucking him too."

Skylar turned around and glared at him. Meck stopped just before the bathroom, and Conrad peeked his head around next to him to watch.

"Oh, shut the hell up Alec, did you ever think that maybe, just maybe," she stepped toward him and raised her hand to point at him. "I'm not fucking interested? Get the hell over yourself."

"Not interested?" Alec scoffed.

"Yes, not fucking interested, you heard me." She stormed toward the bathroom in a worse mood than she had been when Meck had found her. She pushed past him and Conrad, who was observing her before he shrugged and made his way to his bunk.

When she was done in the bathroom, she saw Conrad and Alec whispering to each other, with Desmond and Isaac there too. Isaac nodded to her and Conrad smiled, but Desmond had the same look on his face as Alec.

Skylar threw herself in bed and rolled so she was facing the wall, thanking the entire world she'd chosen a bed that she could do that. She was tired. And annoyed.

After laying for a good twenty minutes and ignored the sounds of other initiates going to bed, she rolled she was flat on her bed, looking up. A balled-up wrapper hit her in the face, making her turn sharply.

"He's an ass," Meck mouthed from the bed across from hers. She'd made Adaline move the other night so that he wasn't so far away, mostly because last week they'd been getting up early to train.

Skylar nodded at him and mouthed that they were getting up early to go for a run again, and he smiled before laying on his back.

She hoped that she and Meck would be friends for a very long time because if she really thought about it, she didn't have any other close friends. Sure, the Dauntless-born had been good friends so far, but how long was that going to last? With training and the fights, or even once they were all in Dauntless, it'd be stupid to think that they'd ass remain close. Especially since Alec was being an ass; he had been friends with most of them his entire life.

She rolled on her back again and closed her eyes tightly, thinking of Shade. He would tell her that it was all in her head, just like he had when they were kids.

Everything was fine, and she was just having a bad night.

She began every day a new day, so it could always be better.

Tomorrow would be better. It had to be better.

Optimistic. She needed to be optimistic because that's what he would have wanted. That was why she was there, and he wasn't, no matter how unfair it was.

She put her hand on her side, above her tattoo, smiling when she thought of the tree. It was the same one that had been in their yard, in the house that no longer stood.

..


End file.
